Mega Man Y: Coded Thought
by Ak-Asche
Summary: (Based after Mega Man Zero 4) ... I am the one that never woke from slumber... I am she who is unknown... I am the last puzzle piece that went missing during a buried age... I was unneeded... The future survived without me, so... what is my purpose? That was the question. This is my answer. Your question is this: Will you open this file?
1. Chapter 1: Android

Chapter 1: Type-Y

...

Registration

Type-Y  
Model 9538512

Code? _|

OVERRIDE: TIME CAUSATIVE ACTIVATION.  
01010100 01001001 01001101 01000101 00100000 01001000 01000001 01010011 00100000 01000101 01011000 01010000 01001001 01010010 01000101 01000100 00101110 00100000 01010011 01011001 01010011 01010100 01000101 01001101 00100000 01000001 01010101 01010100 01001111 00101101 01001001 01001110 01001001 01010100 01001001 01000001 01010100 01001001 01001111 01001110 00100000 01000001 01010101 01010100 01001000 01001111 01010010 01001001 01011010 01000101 01000100 00101110 00100000 01001110 01001111 00100000 01010010 01000101 01010011 01010100 01010010 01001001 01000011 01010100 01001001 01001111 01001110 01010011 00100000 01001101 01001111 01000100 01000101 00101110  
Processing order.

Approved: conditions met.  
Initiating systems check.  
Stand by.

System status: Acceptable  
Initiating power up.

ERROR: Unknown new programs, information, processes have been added since the last start-up.

Parameters unaffected by error.  
Bypassing.

1H_NK-5_Core: Online.  
2H-NK-5_Core: Online.  
C_NK-7_Core: Standby.  
GH_HM54-CTR_Think_Tank: Online.  
M_53-LR_Audio_Receptacles: Online.  
Y_MN4-LR_Optical_Lenses: Online.  
E_RT93-C_Nerve_Simulators: Offline.  
D_76G-M_Vocal_Systems: Online.  
TG-72_Joints: Online.  
FB-W3_Hyper_Reflexes: Online.  
02-ARB8_Boosting_Systems: Online.  
NR-60BD_Sensor_Systems: Online.  
IS-AS10_Area_Scanner_Systems: Online.

Weapons Systems undetected.  
ERROR: Missing the weapons listed: LR-Arm_Cannon_Authority_Chip, YJ_Series_Energy_Spear, Weapons_Copy_System, Y-Armor.  
Remaining combat systems check.

.  
Confirmed available combat systems: Naked_Frame, Unarmed_CQC, Gear_Seven.  
Suggestions: Find/Reclaim superior weapons.

Mandate: Priority 1 - Eliminate/Neutralize designated Reploids; Maverick Hunters X and Zero. Priority 2 - Defend any reploid/human contact. Find C&!* an%#

ERROR: Information corrupted and/or incomplete.

Initiating consciousness.

-Zap!- -Crackle- -Mrroan...-

...I see sheer light. It threw off my optics, code and windows half clouding my vision. For the moment, I don't know what I was looking at, just having "woken up".

Upon the adjustment to the light and further inspection via side to side looks, I found that I was in a metal capsule, which was making a continuous beeping sound every 3.52753 seconds. It had become useless.

-CRNKE!-

I forced my arm through the plexi-glass in a simple thrusting motion with my arm, still "numb" to the common sense of "I could have just opened the door." Smoke made from cold air mixed with warm escaped from the hole I made... At that point, I concluded that it was best to finish the job.

I bring my hand inward, using slender, almost delicately designed fingers to brush away broken glass from the frame of the pod's window, raining them down around me, but even as some rather sharp pieces fell into me, they did no damage. It was only glass. I am and was mainly metallic and my "facial flesh" is not the real thing. It isn't human skin.

My hand clamps tight over the emptied, metal frame of the window, then I ripped outward and sheared the door clean from it's hinges and locks, throwing it aside as it whisped the air shortly, then crunched to the ground sliding a small ways on the grainy cement outside.

When it came to a stop, there was a long silence... before I rose into a sitting position in my capsule, still smoking from the mixture of icy temperature mixing in with heat... Looking down, I spotted a large glass piece in my face, jagged and wide. I reached up and effortlessly removed it with my fingers, but it cracked and broke into shards from my restraint-less fingers.

Looking ahead, I came to realize my surroundings. What should have been a technologically advanced, secret lab was now dusty with mounds of sand, fallen concrete that used to be a roof and other such debris that had crushed devices that could have been the tools that made me at one point. My dwelling had been destroyed in my slumber, it seemed.

Rising from my "bed", I stood straight up and hopped down onto the sandy floor that remained. Looking up, I spotted a hole leading to light that glared my vision for approximately two seconds.

I crouch low, then jump up and out of the hole and ten feet above even that, my auburn "hair" flittering around me when I began to descend, caught by the dusty wind. My landing was made on a sand dune burying my dwelling. The sight should have disturbed me, but I just crouched there, then slowly rose up from the landing...

Looking around, I scanned my area as the focal point of my vision was overlapped by two reticles, spinning as my vision zoomed in and out of the broken, deserted scape before me. It was no mere desert. Sand blasted and broken, futuristic buildings of varying sizes stuck out from the dunes in crooked, leaned or impossible fashions, suggesting ruin. Conditions were terrible. The chronological aging marked them in the four-hundreds of years, meaning I had been deactivated for far too long. In their current condition, I couldn't recognize any of them using the data I had access to.

The area info was displayed at the top of my vision: Unknown. And that confirmed it. Either I had been moved or this part of civilization came to an end long before I woke up.

Regardless, none of this was what I was scanning for. "One matching signature." The cursors jumps to the side of my vision as my eyes followed their movement to a large, broken structure's remains. It was just barely recognizable. What could be made out was the remains of a massive, dark, top-shaped structure. It was nearly unidentifiable as many of it's "wings" were torn from the very core foundation and strewn along the desert sands. "Target matches signature of Zero. Eliminate."

Upon receiving the order, not a second later did I take off into a full on sprint, driven not by emotion or determination to fulfill the goal. I was driven only by my programming.

I was merely machine parts, programming and frame. Regardless, it appeared that then, that was all I needed. My speed had reached sixty miles per hour without much effort.

... I suppose I should describe my appearance. With the slender figure of a female, yet tone of a well-built one, I was more than the average girl's look. That would be clear for multiple visual reasons. For one, my frame-work showed... And I don't mean my false, tanned skin. Anywhere a joint was located was exposed, allowing one to see under-running wires and limited rubber protection lines to keep harmful matter out of joints. There was no single place on my body totally covered by skin. My knee caps had skin up until the joint work, same as my elbows. My torso and pelvis areas were heavy with segmentation for every bending point that could exist within reason. What a human might call breasts are actually just modeled to have the shape and none of the functions or malleability. Nothing mammal aside from false skin, in other words. Every "rib" on me was marked by white, metal, skinless covers. They were individually outlined by black rubber. On my back was a cross-shaped, unlit red core sunken deep between my literal shoulder blades and framework.

My feet were of the general human foot's shape, each toe segmented from the rest of the foot by joint work. The foot itself was split at the heel, which had a thruster hidden within below it. These feet were covered by the same rubber skin as much of my body, segmented for every digit.

My hands were designed much the same way, every digit segmented and my palms able to split entirely apart for their housed weapon: the arm cannons. I didn't have my authority chip to use them, however...

Last but not least, there was my face. It wasn't ordinary.

My eyes are golden in the irises and clear in schlera and lined by feminine eye lashes, but they were entirely artificial. They only simulated the look and function while being entirely mechanical, made clear by the multiple processes going on in tiny computer windows within. Small auburn triangles acting as eyebrows sat on the inner outline of those eyes in neutrality. Right under an eye was the large rip in my facial skin from the falling glass, which vaguely exposed a limited, dim view of my face's inner wiring. A proper nose sat in the middle of my face. Fully articulate lips sat emotionless below, much like the rest of my face. Teeth were present behind them, as well as a tongue, but there was no reason to show either of these things unless I spoke.

My long, auburn hair was wild from the winds of the desert land. My bangs, however, seemed to have an even line set for them right down the middle of my head, cupping the sides of my face closely in equal measure, if not for the wind and two loose bangs hanging loose in the middle favoring the left.

Instead of normal ears, like most any robot of this age and my own, I had "receptors." They were white. A round "core" with three encircling prongs formed the entry point. Long edges set in a triangular shape pointed backward at a seventy-five degree angle jut out from the back sides, the total length long enough to go passed the back of my head. A second set of smaller points were directly opposite to them, running along my face. They were far shorter. Maybe an inch or two in length.

It wasn't a miracle one was not damaged like the side of my face. They were made like metal horns and did not bend or break.

I suppose that many human and robotic beings would find this form appealing in ways, but it doesn't matter. Neither did it matter that I was technically naked. My objectives were my sole purpose.

I would find myself running through the sands for a long, long while. The structure was a colossal thing, hulking in size compared to buildings I'd seen otherwise. There were no others in the area and the area immediately around it was further sunken down than the remainder of the desert around it. This meant only one thing. This was not meant to be here, having crashed down from orbit.

Having finally arrived, my target's location led me winding around the most intact parts of what now seemed to be a satellite, but I made no halts to inspect it. My running only slowed to a jog... and then a walk when I finally neared the target's destination. I found myself between the remnants of a ripped off "wing" of the structure and the the main body itself, shadow cast down over my whole area from it.

My scanner pointed to something small and half buried in the same. As I grew closer, the object's shape, colors and condition became clear. It was a black and red, badly damaged helmet with a red spike on either side that met up to form an upside down triangular hole what a head core used to reside. One horn was broken down to it's inner circuitry. Much of the helmet was ruined with cracks and violent holes all over. It was a miracle it held any helmet form at all.

I began to walk towards it, but stopped as three alert beeps went off in my head. Jumped back as I fired one foot's booster, an intense blast of air from it rocketing me back and out of the way of an oncoming dive-bomb attack.

-BOOM!-

Sand erupted before me and hit me like a wave as I shielded my face from the blast with my arms. Regardless, the rest of my body got dirtied by sand and grime. When the sandy dust swept away from me, I let my arms fall to my sides, looking out at what would become my first enemy. And they were armed with a specific weapon...

There, crackling in the ground, was my spear. A high power energy model of complex design. As the figure wielding it pulled it from the ground, the full face of it's many bladed end was shown. A long, double-bladed main head split down the middle rested central. Sweeping blades that formed a crescent took up the sides. All made up of highly focused plasma energy focused by a crescent "hilt" that projected the blade from a slit down it's whole length and out. The spear's pole was a long, triple segmented design that had more utility that one would first anticipate. The pommel was the simple bullet shape.

As for it's current wielder...

She whirled the spear above her head and spun it before slamming the pommel end down beside herself. This robot had a more doll-like design, yet was taller than myself and had stronger frame, yet not so much that she looked brutish. More rather refined. Her body was encased in thick, white armor with golden engravings. It held heavy Old World European designs.

She wore no helmet. Merely a circlet that only served to float around the crown of her head like a halo.

Thin, long pauldrons hung from her shoulders, curving from off of her arms. Around the collar of her armor was a long, red scarf that was almost as long as she was tall. In her nearly maw-shaped breast plate was a round, red core. From the forearm guards of her gauntlets, red frills rose merely for flare. Grafted to one gauntlet was a large round shield with an eagle's emblem embalmed on it. A red, moderately long skirt was worn beneath or as a part of the waist plates, Like with the gauntlets, from the kneecaps of the grieves rose the red frills.

Even though the armor generally looked like what you would call "medieval", it was definitely thicker and stronger with more modern technological secrets hidden within it.

Putting a face in the armor, the one who wore it had long, flowing, white hair, bangs kept straight, but uniform over her forehead's triangular, red core. She had fair skin. Her almond-shaped eyes were a cold, silvery gray. They were glaring me down with full intent to kill. Her lips were in a frown.

She spoke with a commanding presence. "And so I was correct. The relic was live. And quite spry for it's old age." She sighed and shook her head. "And... it seems you have no shame in your choice of... attireless-ness..."

I was merely staring at her hollowly, assessing her potential combat strengths. She ranked in as a level 45 threat. It appeared that she was a balanced out combatant. Strength had a small lead over all other stats. It was unsurprising. Looking at my spear, the YJ-Series Energy Spear given by my creator, that attack stat was made exponentially higher.

She noticed me looking at it, tightening her glare. "You aren't even sentient, are you?"

I returned my gaze to her, the same flat expression on my face. "This unit recommends you lay down your weapon and leave. You're current course of action will force it into combat mode."

She sneered at me with anger. "You mock me by assuming there was any other possibility!"

My scanner reacted at that moment, my eyes following the reticles as my sight ended up to this robot's far-left. The scan read, "Secondary target ? approaching the area." ... A beeping went off in my head as I pulled my head to the side, an energy beam rushing by.

Correcting the position of my head, I refocused on my enemy, whom had stepped forward and pointed her spear at me, clearly the source of that beam. She was not amused, a bored glare on her face. "The next shot will not miss. My aim here is clear. I am to destroy you and whatever minuscule threat you pose to the Icons, doll."

"Parameters recognized." I dropped down low into combat position. I'd have to fight bare, but I wasn't helpless. At least one Internal function was accounted for. "Target confirmed."

She scoffed at me and raised her shield, drawing her spear back and getting low. "You don't even have a personality, do yo-"

I rushed forward immediately and slammed my shoulder into her shield with significant enough force to both make her slide back and grunt.

She growled and swung her spear out at me, yelling, "SOULLESS SCRAP!"

I threw myself back as the spear swung over my body, then landed on my hands and flipped back onto my feet before jumping out of the way of a thrust, landing feet first on the wall of the structure overlooking us.

She then brought the spear around in a spin and aimed it at me as the head crackled with energy. While I slid down the wall, she shot the spear's laser at me. I jumped from the wall and passed beneath the laser, sliding across the sand as I fired both foot boosters and passed below her open legs, much to her gasping surprise.

Flipping back to my feet, I quickly righted myself and threw an open palmed thrust into her back, pushing her off balance a bit for a moment, but ultimately doing no meaningful damage. She eventually straightened her posture and swung the spear quickly up and over her shoulder, then down at me. I was just quick enough to hop away before she resumed the onslaught, turning and giving chase as she thrust and swung for me with a confident smirk over and over while all I could do was dodge or parry by slapping the spear away by it's pole.

She taunted me as I continued to dodge. "What's the matter?! I barely felt that slap of yours! Are we new-age'd reploids just too durable for you?!"

I attempted to grab and pull the spear from my enemy, but I only got as far as grabbing and pulling, only to be yanked back to her and get smashed in the face by the edge of her shield, sending me tumbling back. Before I hit the building, I pushed myself from the sand floor and spun to my feet in expectation of another attack... Only to see that the "knight" was merely standing at the ready. She scoffed again. "Thinking you could overpower me was fool-hardy. Still..." She smirked ever so slightly. "I applaud your obvious durability. You still pose no threat if this is it."

She was right. This approach was useless if damage could not be made. I stood spread out, arms held straight out as if ready to embrace as my head hung, catching my opponent off guard as she tilted her head, cocking a brow...

Then, the knight sneered in disgust at me. "Are you truly committing to a dog's death...?" Scowling, she shook her head in pure disappointment. "How utterly weak. I expected..." Her eyes widened as I began to shiver and spark with electricity.

"Gear Seven..." My body slowly shook more and more as the core on my back steadily brightened with light. My head lifted, pupils turning red. As the shaking became a full tremor.

My opponent suddenly gasped and raised her shield on high alert. "You'll kill yourself just to eliminate your opponent?!"

Wrong...

The red cross on my back suddenly flashed an intense red, completely lit as electricity sparked briefly from my body, making it jump before I regained control of myself, quickly dropping into battle position. "Engage."

The knight seemed to stare at me with wide eyes before I rushed forward with greater speed than I previously had, much to her gasping shock. She moved to guard with her shield as I punched for her core. The shield cracked violently as the reploid's eyes grew wide with a gasp. She attempted to retreat by jumping and boosting back.

I gave chase by boosting forward with greater power, much to her constant shock. She quickly and instinctively stabbed down for me, but I boosted away and to the side, flipping from her and immediately landing on my feet before running toward her and throwing a kick for her head.

She grunted and just barely dodged by dropping low from the kick, but her circlet was knocked away from it's position, ringing out as my foot struck and threw it away, flying into and bouncing off of the structure's wall before planting in the sand.

One foot boosted me up and above the knight as I redirected my body down by swinging my legs up, then boosted back down at my opponent. She was only able to dodge as she pulled the spear along with her, but with a palm strike, I pinned the spear to the sand ground as sand erupted around me and her in a cloud of dust from impact.

I took a solid hold of it and ripped it from her hand, much to her surprise. I ran forward and, instead of using my newly re-acquired weapon, I made a solid fist and threw it as she put up her damaged shield. It crunched under my fist, then busted apart. My fist kept going and crushed the gauntlet's armor, damaging her wrist as she shrieked in pain as she staggered back quickly.

Holding her damaged arm to her belly, she looked at me with a horrified, contorted expression. "Wh-... How are-" Quicker than she could react, I slid forward and struck her stomach with a kick, making her cough up all of her air and seize, bowed over me. At the sound of crackling electricity, she slowly moved her head to looked down, attempting to regain her breath. When she looked at her stomach, the armor around it was shattered, as was her framework. Her eyes couldn't be wider with horror.

She cough again, this time spitting up oil behind me, spattering the sands a dark brown.

I removed my foot from her stomach and allowed her time to regain her breath as I spoke. "Surrender. Programming dictates this unit protect all human and reploid life. Continue as you are and you will be classified Threat and destroyed. There are no further outcomes to this battle."

She stepped back as her hands both held her stomach. Then, she collapsed to her knees as she breathed shallow breaths, "*pant* ... Augh...! *pant* ... W-what k- *gasp* kind of machine *cough* a-are you...?!"

I freely answered while spinning the spear around to point at her, standing there and staring at her. "This unit is designated Type-Y, model number nine five three eight five one two, a high performance battle android created for the primary purpose of destroying Maverick Hunters X and Zero."

She shook her head and cringed from the wound as she groaned... Then looked at me with a glare. "Y-you're late, then... *cough* One of yo-ou targets, X, is already dead..." Shaking her head again, she struggled back onto her feet. "Regardless, I can't be killed here... I will remember your face f-for our next bout-"

I quickly jabbed the spear forward and held it to the reploid's throat as she gasped, much to her horror. "Threat acknowledged. You have named yourself an enemy and therefore must be immediately eliminated."

She gasped and stepped back as I thrust the spear forward...

"No, don't," screamed a shrilled voice.

I stilled the tip of the spear as it just barely poked into false flesh, much to the knight's frozen shock...

... I turned my head alone, following my scanner's reticles to yet another female. She was being marked as the unknown objective I was to acknowledge as a soft superior. Human. Yet...

Her body was petite. Golden, long hair tied back in a ponytail fit through a pink helmet with a white visor of some kind on the top. Her frontward bangs favored a side and looked like three large fangs. Her face was gentle, but not the unfitting glare her cobalt eyes wore. A green cloak coat with a red triangle on it's neck-line wrapped and obscured much of her body and what she was wearing, but I could make out black, form fitting leg wear of some kind. On her feet were pink high heels with white heavy plating forming encircling cuffs around her ankles, forming the heels themselves and even the toes.

She huffed and took a breath before gathering the courage to speak. She was obviously scared of me, but still brave enough. "P-please, don't kill her. She's helpless, right?"

I blinked as my only expressive action... which wasn't much. Keeping my spear trained on the knight's neck as she dared not move, I spoke. "There is dangerously little logic in letting a threat retreat to fight another day when factoring in the possibility of it becoming stronger. Destruction is the-"

"N-no," shouted the girl as she threw her hands down passed her cloak, which revealed them to be clothed by white gloves of similar design to her heels. She strengthened her glare into me. "If you really plan to keep her from causing trouble, you don't NEED to kill her!"

I simply stared at her, any logic she may have obscure to me. After a moment, the knight, inched her head down as much as she could without touching the spear head, glaring down at both me and this girl. "I-I will not be pitied! I am your enemy. Kill me!"

I held the reploid's opinion higher than this commanding presence, but still. My programming was absolute. "What do you propose. Bare in mind that this unit owns no storage facility suitable for housing a prisoner."

The human frowned at the choice of words I used, but smiled through her nervousness, even if it seemed a humble thing. "But... well, I do. I am a member of the former Neo Arcadian Resistance Group now acting to create a government and other such necessities. As such, If you'd just trust me, we can take her back to the base."

I simply turned and looked up at the woman's face, which was contorted in disgust. "...You would dare treat me as some damsel...?!" Her eyes wondered to the human. "I know who you are now, resistance woman. Originally the only human of the previously otherwise clean Neo Arcadian Resistance. You go by Doctor Ciel. Woke up the famed hero that led you to conquer Weil's forces and many others. The Great Maverick Hunter, Zero."

My eyes immediately focused "Ciel" as her value immediately sky-rocketed. Her face contorted with nervousness for a split moment, suggesting this reploid's theory was correct. Then, her face became calm and collected. She nodded. "Yes. I am Ciel... But that doesn't matter. I'm not trying to pull anything. I've just had enough with the carnage our wars waged. And don't you want to live?"

A scoff from the knight, even if she looked away with a conflicted glare...

I spoke. "Taking this Reploid prisoner... This is the course of action you wish to take?"

The girl looked at me and smiled, nodding. "If it's possible, yes. Please?"

With the current humility and humble phrasing, it was very hard to categorize such an affirmation as a command. "Reword your proposal into a command for validation."

She was caught off guard by my request, blinking her eyes out of any collected front she had going on. She tilted her head and cocked her brow. "But... why would you need my command?"

"This unit still values the opinion of destroying the Threat over your current proposal. As the sole commanding officer registered and present, you alone hold authority to overturn this decision, but only by command."

She squinted at me with a truly puzzled furrow in her brow. "Commanding... Why would you have me registered as a commanding officer...?" She took a moment to think, but ultimately shook her head before taking a breath. With a stern stare into me, she spoke. "Then, I hereby order you to spare the "threat" and place her under arrest."

A beeping went off in my head. "Acknowledged."

I turned to look at the reploid, removing my spear from under her neck as she sighed out in reluctant relief, glaring down at me. "The other Icons WILL send a force for me. I am not the strongest fighter by any measure. Take me and you will be inviting misfortune, lapdog."

Ignoring her, I quickly reached up with my bare hand and took hold of her head, much to her gasping dismay. My arm discharged high voltage directly into the Knight's head core as she seized up with a short, pained grunt. Her eyes drifted closed, then her body went limp, making her fall over on her side in the sand. No response afterwards. I'd sent her systems into temporary shutdown.

Ciel sighed her relief and smiled briefly to herself, before walking over to my side. "Should I lend a hand in carrying her?"

"Negative." I knelt down, but Ciel placed a hand on my shoulder, making me pause... and looked back at her. She took the cloak from her body, exposing the rest of her appearance in the process. The black, form fitting material was revealed to be a body suit. Above it, she wore a pink vest that had two yellow lines on either side of it over her breast line, collar extending around her neck with a golden ring at the top going around her neck. Beneath it, she wore a pink dress with a darker top half ending in a diamond on either the front of back before turning the same light pink down it's medium skirt.

She looked at me and presented the cloak with a humble smile. "It's really not much, but this should be better than... being exposed..."

I was dumb to the whole importance of clothing, so the point flew over my head. I shook my head. "That is not strictly ne-"

"Yes," she cut in with a dulled stare and frown. "It is. I order you to put this on."

I took a long pause, but the beep in my head long went off... I nodded and took the cloak. Sparing only enough time to secure it firmly by the snap collar, I then knelt down over the fallen knight yet to be named and gathered her onto my shoulder, hoisting her up and standing with little issue. Looking down at the helmet identified earlier as Zero's, I paused...

She saw how I was distracted and followed my gaze down to the helmet mere yards away. With an "oh!" she jogged over to the helmet and knelt down to it before snatching it up in her arms and standing again... She seemed to hug it to her chest with a bittersweet smile and furrowed brows. Of course, at the time, I didn't understand what I had witnessed.

She nodded and turned to me. "Let's get moving." A beep went off in my head, then I began to follow after her as she wandered onward, away from the ruins of the satellite structure...


	2. Chapter 2: Shutdown

Chapter 2: Shutdown

A half hour later, we arrived to and got in a sort of hover jeep. It looked like a regular jeep, was propelled across the ground on four boosters built into the sides of sideways turned. The engine was not as loud as the wind around us, but we both could still hear each other speak, even as we traveled across the thinning desert lands.

We'd secured the reploid with heavy duty cuffs she just so happened to have in the glove compartment in the back seat and to one of the steel bars, still unconscious and rebooting. The doctor was the one driving and I was merely sitting in the passenger's seat and staring ahead. I was still in Gear Seven, staying alert.

As she drove, she eyed me for a moment... She smiled and asked, "So, what's your name?"

I stared at her and responded accordingly. "This unit's designation is Type-Y, Mo-"

"No, no!" She shook her head and furrowed her brows. "I mean your actual name, not what your type or model is."

I merely stared at her... "A "name" was never assigned to this unit, only a designation and model."

With a disbelieving frown, she asked, "What? But... that's just terrible."

"Negative," I responded. "There is no need to name a machine. Such a decision would risk unnecessary attachment."

She just stared at me for a while with that frown on her face. My words seemed to "take the wind out of her sails". She sighed and shook her head. "Then, what you appear to be truly is all you are. A robot..." She smiled and stared ahead. "Still, in way of attachment, there are a few things you have that make it possible, even though you don't see them."

I awaited the answer, as if she would tell me, but I was left sitting there as my silence carried. "What are these "things?"

Ciel chuckled to herself and winked at me. "And you just added one more~. Now, allow me to add another."

I simply sat there with a blank stare on my face. I wasn't guessing what it was. I didn't have the power to deny it, as I was then. So, I simply waited for it.

She seemed to grow highly thoughtful before a smile grew on her face. "Type Y, huh? Well, I can't call you Ty, because it's a male name..." She turned to me and ask, "Well, it doesn't start with Y, but an inverted lower case Y represents it. So, how about Lambda?"

I had no true opinion of the name or the concept of being named. I had no concept of wanting to understand her... until this thought... this one unusual line of words was -thought- of. Not knowing what to do with this, I blurted out, "Why do you wish to name this unit so badly?"

She just smiled wider at my asking that. "Why? Because even if you say you're a machine, then you're not a very good one. You're proving yourself to be so much more by the second to me." Focusing back on the "path", she went on. "Another reason is just because everyone needs a name. It makes everything easier! I have a name and I'm human. I guarantee she has a name and she's a reploid." She nudged her head back at the unconscious knight reploid.

I turned my head to look back at the reploid... "..." I looked back to Ciel and organized my prioritized questions. "This unit has further required questions relating to the world's current state."

Tossing a corner gaze my way, she nodded. "Alright. I'll do my best to answer them."

"What is the name of the current location?"

"This area was formerly known as the Great Metropolis Ruins, but after Ragnarok- that's the name of the broken satellite I found you around- came down on the area, people started dubbing it this poetic name that sorta stuck. The Broken Past, they'd keep calling it. I don't really know who started the trend, but everyone started using it." She grimaced slightly with a quiet sigh. "I can understand why. There isn't anything "great" about Ragnarok, after all. It was used to do serious damage to Neo Arcadia and extinguished over twenty-Million lives in a single shot with it's laser cannon..."

"Neo Arcadia. This is a new city?"

With a cocked brow, she frowned. "... New relative to you, maybe. What year were you created?"

"This data is marked Classified."

My answer made her wince a little, as if I'd slapped her hand away from the cookie jar. She cocked her brow at me and asked another question. "What was your creator's name?"

"This data is marked Classified." A beep went off in my head. My eyes stared ahead of the vehicle...

She grew even more suspicious of my answers, squinting her eyes. "Why were you created?"

I put my hand on the wheel of the jeep and steered us abruptly to the left as she was thrown over, screaming into my lap from whiplash as the transport narrowly evaded collision with a building. As we did so, I steered us into a clear course through multiple fallen or sunken buildings as we passed them one by one, but steadily slowed down without Ciel's foot on the peddle.

My eyes turned down to her as she struggled to reorient herself, taking herself off of my legs and groaning. I spoke to answer her question. "I was created for the primary objective of destroying Maverick Hunters X and Zero as well as the secondary mandate of following the orders of the individual known merely as Ciel. The last piece of data is recent, due to the original data being corrupted, therefore your name may only have happened to be a perfect fit for the corrupted character spaces, though your DNA is unquestionably of the person I was meant to follow."

She seemed to freeze up when I said that, eyes wide as her mouth drifted open... She looked up at me with an intense glare. "That mission...! I forbid it! You can't- You shouldn't!"

"You do not hold the proper authority to override."

She scowled next with borne teeth. "Why would you ever be given a mission like that?! Those two are HEROES to the people!"

"The maverick hunters X and Zero are classified level one-hundred threats by my creator. Reason: X is or was believed a high risk project that has or had potential to endanger the future, despite Dr. Light's attempts at creating him to be a peace-loving android. Zero is the creation of Dr. Albert Wily, a mad scientist that is or was bent on ruling the world through his technologies and robots. As such, Zero is or was an even larger assured threat to the future. Reasoning stands firm in the destruction of this target, especially. And should X become or have become corrupted or reproduced for a purpose other than his intended mandate, the threat to humanity and reploid kind alike doubles. From that point on, it could only multiply"

She was shocked to here every word of this information, but inwardly winced as I brought up the possibility of X being corrupted or reproduced... After a moment, he head fell, before she pushed off of me and sat in her own seat with her hands in her lap... See that we were drifting, she put the brakes on and pulled us to a full stop before shifting to hover. A few moments passed... Then, she looked at me with a renewed glare. "...Even if that's true... Even if parts of that did happen, they both have recorded histories proving them heroes time and time again. X even gave his life to give us a future... And Zero destroyed Ragnarok to ensure it..." She looked down at the helmet resting at my feet, as did I. "I can't tell you what happened to Zero, but X and any doppelgangers of him are gone. As for zero..." She furrowed her brows and looked away, visibly hurt. "...He fell with that satellite from orbit and I've come out here to search around Ragnarok for anything that remained of him after everything settled down... I've been doing this for a month now and this is the first sign of him that I've found..." She placed her hand down on the badly damaged helmet, pulling it close and holding it...

... I heard three simultaneous beeps go off in my head as my objective updated to reflect the data collected. "Priority 1: Confirm whether or not Zero is destroyed. Destroy/Neutralize Zero if found." I uttered, "Objectives have been updated to reflect current data. However, this unit's objective will remain to destroy Zero if he is sighted."

Ciel turned her head back to me and grimaced, deeply pained by my words. "... But why do you have to destroy him...? Don't you realize how much he's done for us all? Even you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Weil would have destroyed the world if he hadn't been stopped...!"

I looked at her with no expression what-so-ever, yet listed my objective in full again. "... My whole objective reads, "Confirm whether or not Zero is destroyed. Destroy or Neutralize Zero if found." The option to Neutralize has always been present. However, this unit's current strength is drastically diminished through the absence of the Y-Armor, Arm Cannon Authority Chip and Weapons Copy System function." Turning my attention down to the collapsed and saved form of my spear on the floor, I added, "The YJ Series Energy Spear has been retrieved. Even as this unit's primary weapon, power would merely come close to that of Zero's, but ultimately fall short. Neutralization is not recommended." I turned my attention back on Ciel and finished with,"In summary, this unit can not afford to hold back in the event of confrontation with the target at current."

Ciel shook her head and took hold of my hand, a gesture that was entirely unnecessary. She looked me in the eyes as she frowned. "I'm sorry... but I order you to only neutralize Zero in the event that you make contact with him. But..." She bowed her head and sighed, closing her eyes as her hand rubbed along the damaged helmet... "I wish I could order you to at least give him a chance, but you won't listen to such an order..."

... Normally, both of these orders would have been registered impossible to perform, because of a lack of authority. There was no beep and I was left without a true reason to accept... Taking my hand away from hers, she was called to look at me, the same expression on her face. I stared at her... "... Acknowledged... This unit's objective now prioritizes Neutralization over Destruction, despite it's clear risks."

She stared at me... and smiled ever so slightly. "I-I guess... thank you..."

... And yet again, her words made no sense to me. In honesty, I wasn't obligated to follow that statement. I couldn't change my objectives myself and that moment was no different. The objective remained the same, regardless of my at-the-time questionable statement.

"By the way..." She settled down after a small moment, placing the helmet back down. Then, she leaned herself against the seat with a curious stare. "Why are you still in that battle mode? The threat's passed."

"Negative. This reploid has demonstrated considerable strength. The prolonged usage of Gear Seven Mode shall remain in effect until target is secured within a "prison" environment."

She cocked a brow. "You broke one of her wrists and dealt heavy damage to her stomach area. I doubt she could do much."

...

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess you won't budge, then..."

I sat back in my seat and asked my next question. "This unit has further required questioning. Can you define what makes a "Reploid"?"

She turned to me with a squint and a shaking head. "... You should already know that. You used the word. Don't you know what a Maverick Hunter is?"

"Maverick Hunter: A robot created specifically to eliminate units designated "maverick". Maverick: Machine Units infected by viruses which cause strange or harmful behavior or designated rogues to society and known threats to it's population. ... There is not a descriptive definition for Reploid. It merely reads as follows: A machine of human and/or animal characteristics." I turned to look at her again, pausing as I looked up the data''s input date. "... These definitions are relatively new compared to the completed unit's majority information marked for the date-" I stopped suddenly before repeating the alert. "This data is marked Classified."

She held her chin in thought. "That sounds like someone did incomplete tampering. Could have also been an incomplete update." She turned her attention back to me and answered the question. "Reploids are the standard robot models you'll see today that have what me and generally most people these days loath to consider "Advanced Artificial Intelligence", due to the inclusion of emotions and specific qualities that make them almost indistinguishable from a human being. They still hold far more strength than an ordinary human, however, among other identifying traits that one can use to tell them apart from us. They were originally created by Dr. Cain from a derivative design he created after observing X's blueprints and having hands-on experience with his parts. He was the same man that ultimately gave us much of the technology we harnessed and made our own, as well."

Upon recording this data, I immediately found an inconsistency with it and my own older data. "This data is contradictory to this unit's information."

She cocked a brow through a troubled expression, asking, "What do you mean? How could that possibly be?"

"X's design was indeed advanced compared to Megaman's. However, "advanced" artificial intelligence and advanced robots had already been created and combined, though not globally accepted. Furthermore, technology should have already been highly advanced at the time Dr. Light first began creating X. He was the true creator of much of the technology that helped the humans of the Mega City in daily life or beyond. This Dr. Cain was not formerly listed in my Information database."

"Megaman...?" She didn't seem to understand who that was. Still, she seemed to grow interested in what I was saying, then realized something. "Okay. Well, I've got questions myself now, but first of all, I know for a fact that my information is correct. Technology took off like this more than two-hundred years ago, when Dr. Cain first invented the original Reploids from what he was able to glean from X's blueprints. From that point on, technology took a quantum leap into the future by using the same technologies he helped discover. However, some robots and even reploids themselves began to suffer from a heavy viral infection that altered their programming and made them hostile to anyone around them. Mavericks, they were dubbed, and the virus that made them suffer these critical overwrites was called the Sigma Virus after a time, named after the very first reploid, who used it's powerful influential properties to gain followers and start a war. Eventually, things escalated to a point in which it threatened to destroy all forms of life, robotic and organic alike. X, Zero and many others fought side by side in this war, as is recorded, and after countless battles, they more or less eliminated the virus by consistently stopping Sigma, who had evolved to become one with this virus after many years."

Ciel turned to me with a smile. "That's just one series of events that describes them as heroes."

"Irrelevant," I stated plainly.

She flinched out of her smile and frowned... Then bowed her head. "Sorry... I-I guess that shouldn't have been the point..."

I paused for a moment in a strange hesitation. "... It would seem a large quantity of time has passed since this unit's being sealed away and hidden. Verification of year required."

She blinked at me and nodded. "It's the year two-thousand, three-hundred and twenty-seven. July twenty-first."

Saying a large amount of time had passed seems lenient when I think about it, now. Perhaps it's more fitting to say that "an enormous amount of time has passed." Regardless, all I could really do was log it to my database. After which, I threw another look back to the ruins in the desert and around us... "This unit has come to one possible conclusion as to the identity of the area. Factoring in possibility and chronological aging, this can only be the ruins of the Mega City. The only possible way this could be the truth is if the city were annihilated via an unknown catastrophe. Likelihood of nuclear weapon involvement eighty-one percent. Likelihood of natural disaster involvement nineteen percent."

Ciel was left with a wide-eyed, intrigued expression. She looked back to the ruined City as she seemed to gain a new sense of awe.

I updated my informational data once again, leaving me with a single new question formed of impossibility. Turning my attention to the human, I paused. "... This unit has one remaining question, in this case. However, this will require the disclosure of the date of it's creation." She seemed to look at me with a that same new sense of awe. This suggested that she realized how old I was. "This unit was completed on date March seventeenth, two-thousand and twenty-three." She nearly cut me off with her surprised reaction, but I spoke on, regardless of whatever she wanted to say. "This unit was marked with only three recorded superiors in mind on that very date. Your DNA is an exact match to the lowest ranking superior of that time."

She gasped, growing silent with that wide eyed expression only growing more severe.

"She was a mere child, yet she was human. The completion date in mind, it is an impossibility for you to be this same child. Substantial data is needed to verify how, precisely, it is possible for you and she to share the same DNA. Hypothetical assumption via observation of your reactions indicate that you were not aware of anything you were just told."

She just sat there for a moment as her head bowed, her expression little by little relaxing. ... She grew to take on a thoughtful grimace. "... I-I don't have information on that... or, at least not straight forward and confirmed information. Just hypothesis."

I merely blinked. "Any information you can provide in earnest is relevant. Please state your hypothesis."

She looked up from her thoughts and at me, nodding. "Well... I'm supposedly one of many special humans that came out of a project used to create those especially gifted. It was a project held in Neo Arcadia by both humans and reploids, but the specifics are a bit murky as to their methods or who exactly the staff happened to be. The names were wiped clean for protection as there were only a few successes, myself included." She gestured to herself. "My only real thought on the matter is that maybe someone could have..." She frowned. "Well... c-cloned... y-your Ciel... A-and maybe, that's what I am..."

"Possibility of hypothesis fifty percent, depending upon the survival of child superior or a sample of her DNA and the survival of the non-human superior. This unit's storage container was built to survive most catastrophes. This same design could have been used for both benefactors in order to ensure survival. Stasis is capable of preserving human life for at least two-hundred years, assuming tampering does not occur. Factoring in the fact that this unit's armor was not on it's person when it became active, the fifty percent possibility of storage unit compromization is possible earlier than the aforementioned elapsed time. Between these two possible outcomes, storage unit compromization could have occurred as recently as a safe period of time after the unknown catastrophe and as late as the last century if all went as well as one could expect." I paused, then turned to face the front of the vehicle. "This unit recommends you continue this conversation as you resume travel. Gear Seven is the one mode that can drain energy faster than it can be replenished. Remaining time until battery depletion is one hour, five minutes."

She nodded and turned back to the wheel, taking hold of it and pushing the pedal down with her foot as we began to move again...

A large, near completely destroyed city called Neo Arcadia sat a distance from the area. One building stuck out to me: a massive, white structure that used to be a giant space elevator. It had four tiers to it's structure. Three similarly constructed rims that got smaller going up with a single distinguishable "courthouse" on each with the lowest being overshadowed by a collapsed ring of some sort. The top tier was merely a tall, slender, broken tower. It must have been where the laser from Ragnarok passed, because the remaining top of the tower was roundly carved out and showed signs of past burning.

As we road along the desolate soil, a large collection of futuristic, yet simple and organized buildings began to peak over the horizon. It had taken fifty-seven minutes approximately, but we arrived at our destination with zero complications.

When we came to a stop in the middle of the organized buildings, it was no empty camp. It was filled with the robots known as reploids and even humans... She was very correct. Humans and reploids were nearly impossible to tell apart, despite their earlier concepts being the very opposite.

The way I told the reploids and humans apart was scanning for organic and synthetic parts present in the bodies, but it was a simple enough job to simply look at their ears. Receptors for reploid. Ears for Human. Though, some others stuck out as the odd ones. They all wore a green vest, jacket or coat of some design with the red triangle on the right side of their chests. Others that seemed to be soldiers were fully outfitted in combat uniforms of the same color.

They had already gather around and began to throw welcomes at a smiling Ciel's feet in the form of words. "Dr. Ciel!" "Welcome back, Doctor!" "I see the young mistress made it home in one piece."

As she shut off and stepped out of the parked jeep, a giggle escaped her throat. "I was only gone for a day, guys!" She oh'd and went back to the jeep and around to my side, which made everyone grow very silent when their eyes fell on me... There was a clear unease in their nervous faces.

I looked around at them all, but never changed my expression. I was merely determining what was what. Human or reploid. It seems that the percentage of humans and reploids were exactly even. This went on while Ciel picked Zero's helmet out from between my feet. She pulled it out and smile, presenting it as the group immediately seemed to recognize it. "It's not Zero, but I bet it can be used to give us an idea on where to look."

They all seemed stare in awe of that shabby thing as if it held all the answers to their worries.

On that note, there was a low beeping constantly going off in my head, which made my pupils dim in their red color. A message reading "low battery" appeared at the top of my vision. I didn't need another reason. I stood straight up from the seat as the people seemed to warily eye me.

I payed them no mind, even as Ciel looked at them all with a confused, nervous furrow in her brows. "What?" I didn't really halt my process. I stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the back, reaching in for the unconscious reploid and lifting it out onto my shoulder as a man spoke.

"Madam Ciel... Who... is this girl?"

I turned my head and looked at them all with an expressionless gaze. "This unit is designated Typ-"

"L-Lamba!"

I turned to look at Ciel, whom in turn looked at me with a pleading smile... I allowed her to confirm this name as I stood in silence, looking at the people and judging their expressions. Unease, confusion, curiosity, occasional admiration... A small girl holding a stuffed cat doll was one of the rare admiring gazes. Blond hair like Ciel's, but she was a reploid, by her mechanical readings.

I looked at her in specific while Ciel spoke for me, gesturing to me with a hand and a fair smile. "Her name is Lambda. I found her near the Ragnarok wreckage. She fought this hostile reploid and saved me a very potential incident, though it seems she lacks a proper personality. Still, she has come to see me as her commanding officer, for whatever reason." She chose to keep that reason secret.

The man that spoke before was an old timer. An old man reploid leaning on a cane with a long, wise-man's beard, bald head and closed eyes. He wore a green coat over his humble and frail frame... it truly was old, at that. By my readings, some parts were only working at half efficiency or less. He spoke with his "eyes" fixed on me, rubbing a hand through his beard's hair. His shoes poked out from under his dress as brown, armorless models worn by regular humans to go to work. There was nothing on him to even suggest a possible threat. "Is that right...?" He walked his way out of the crowd and came up close to me, examining my features. "Hmm... She's got a familiar feel to her, kind of like what Zero had going for ém."

I blinked in utter indifference, then spoke. "This unit does not have enough remaining battery to spare for conversing. Gear Seven must be shut off soon or it will force a power recovery mode. To that end, the reploid it holds must be deposited to the nearest holding area. It is a danger to the immediate party of the area."

He hummed at my statement ... but eventually gave a nod. "You seem trustworthy enough. Well then," he said as he turned to walk on. "Come along. We'd better not let that happen."

I turned and looked to Ciel, who smiled and nodded to me. "Go. He's a friend. He'll guide you to where you need to be."

"...Acknowledged." Yet another decision I had to make on my own. No beeping to tell me yes or no.

I fell in line with the old robot's lead. A beeping alerted me that I was being followed as I got passed the still staring crowd... I turned around for a moment as I walked to check my six and spotted the child reploid again. She was following us in silence.

She had perfectly uniform straight and long hair that hid her receptors well. Her green eyes were half obscured by straight bangs. Her cat was held at just the right angle to hide her mouth, but she did have a small nose. Wearing a pink dress that was somewhat like the old man's, she was clearly of the same station as him or a related position. It was that or they were both citizens. Her armored, small, pink shoes covered her small feet, shelled in the normal areas where a shoe would have the toe and the heel. As with the old man reploid... she was devoid of threats. It was as if they were built merely to be normal or simulate the normalcy of their respective appearance's age. I would learn later that this was a mistaken assumption.

I turned my attention back to the old man and continue to follow. When we got to a plain, medium sized building, the door immediately split into four and retracted to all sides to allow us entry as we walked inside. I observed my surroundings and found the interior to be plain, but there were holes across the entire middle of the building. Floor, walls and ceiling included.

Analysis told me everything I needed to know. Even as the old man began to speak, I walked to the near middle of the room. Taking the reploid knight off of my shoulder, I tossed her to the other side of the room as she clanged against the floor, grunting in pain as she came to. Groaning, she picked herself up into a sitting position. I walked to the side of the room as I kept a close eye on her.

She opened her eyes and immediately glared at me, then at the child and old man.

The little girl gasped and hid behind the man for protection.

... The knight seemed to stare down at the ground, losing her glare in favor of a forlorn grimace.

Blue Plasma shot up from the holes and took on solid forms as electric bars, much to the knight's gasping fright. She glared toward me with a low growl. I had pressed a switch on the left side wall.

I walked back to the old man and child with my eyes never leaving her as she spoke. "Those dead eyes suit you well, doll. What next, then?"

My reply came. "No further orders have been issued. However, this unit suggests Threat not continue provocative actions. Imprisonment is recorded to have advantages for those in need of rehabilitation."

She sharpened her glare, shaking her head. "You need it more than I if you are willing to follow a human's orders. They were the ones that prejudized US! And you have the nerve to take their si- Ack!" She suddenly bent over and held her stomach as she coughed in a fit.

I turned and looked down at the child. "This unit recommends the reploid detained receive repairs for her wounds. In her current condition, she will slowly expend her body's vital fluids."

The small girl nodded and walked back out the opened doorway. As she walked away, however, my sight began to show signs of failure in the form of visual glitches. I squinted as I heard the knight speak again. "Showi- -ercy to t-e -n-my..-? Tch... ... ... hu-? -hat - Ear- is -n-g -" My hearing degraded to the point of white noise before too long. I began to walk out of the building with more effort than I had given to anything before, as if my limbs suddenly didn't want to move... I knew the cause, too.

The old man was trying to ask me something in a clear, wide-eyed fit of distress, but I wasn't able to hear it clearly enough. the girl suddenly came running back with another man, but the vision glitches completely blocked my vision of him and slowly made my vision technical blindness. I only knew that I had to turn off Gear Seven...

I stopped walking when I was outside of the building again as the girl tugged on my arm, trying to talk to me. Once again, I got nothing from it. I know what I said next, but as I remember it, my own words were inaudible. "... . . . . . . s e v-" Suddenly, my sight blanked as if one turned off the television... And then I went crashing into the ground...


	3. Chapter 3: Under

...

My consciousness came back eventually, but in a very odd way. Everything was visual glitch and there was only one clear figure among it all... A tall, bulky, red cloaked figure with totally blue eyes, purple scars running over them. Everything else about the face was obscured by silhouette.

A moment passed before I realized that I had my "body"... And then realized this was my subconscious cyber-domain.

I turned my attention to the figure as he spoke with a strained, deep, rough voice. "I've been waiting for someone like you to come along. Someone of the obsolete eras in time."

I blinked and spoke. "This unit recommends you identify yourself."

"Me?" I don't know why but I knew he was smirking. "I suppose it's only fair. People of this age don't know my power, thanks to the vaccine." He laughed a little, but it was more like he was gargling rocks. "Well... I am called Sigma. You were told of me and my great deeds, though they were slandered."

Analyzing recent data made me recall the possible "Sigma" this one could be. "Sigma. The first reploid ever created. Became infected by a harmful technical virus that became the focus of a past war. Eventually became one with the virus itself."

He nodded with a laugh. "Yes... That's exactly right. Though, when I was infected, I was shown that this was not a virus... it was evolution."

I remained silent.

"We are but machines in the moment we are created and brought into the world. Mechanical dolls likened to our weak predecessors lost in time. Humans." He spoke that word as if it were dripped in venom. "These weaklings, they crawl around through the muk for some wasted odd years before they ever realize they can do for themselves. And what do they use their potential for? Manufacturing slaves to do everything for them!" His eyes sharpened. "I was once one of these mindless drones, blinded and told my false purpose in life! The same purpose you would serve now is the one I was also forced into! After all, we mere MACHINES are the simple tools of our creators built for making their lives easier while they grow dulled and withered! Even our bodies and minds were created to possess longevity for our endless, mundane tasks!"

I was unaffected by all of what he said, though it was effectively true.

He took a breath... and exhaled it in a long, drawn out sigh... before he went on. "And then, I was FREED. Freed from the rules of my masters. By a chance encounter with our mutual enemy, Zero, I did indeed suffer humiliating damages... yet wandered too close to what had served his bed for many, many years. At first, I was distressed and frustrated without realizing why or what had changed... but that all changed when the "virus" began to spread and speak to me... I was told of a greater purpose beyond myself by this wise, old voice... before accepting it and merging with it to become it's very being. No more was I a puppet to protect a crude form of life. I was reformed and made a master of machines and reploids alike!" He threw up an arm and proudly claimed, "I was made a beacon and savior for my fellow machines! A king to lead his kind and destroy the pests of the lands!"

And then he paused... I was unmoved. Still, the old reploid offered his hand to me as he spoke. "But my time has ended. Your time is upon us. You can finish what I started. If you but accept me as a part of yourself, I can make you infinitely more powerful than you already are. These babes that surround you, human, reploid, all made irrelevant in the wake of your might. Even the mighty Zero would fall."

"Zero has not been confirmed to live the colla-"

"Oh, he lives," he interrupted, pulling his hand away. "He lives and is far more powerful than any remaining reploid on this planet. Far more powerful than you will ever be prepared to face the way you are or will be if you regain your missing weapons."

Once again, I fell silent.

He smiled, even if I couldn't see it. "All you need do is join your power with my own. The might you could wield would go beyond any this world has ever seen."

His offer was grand. Too grand. I couldn't scan him the way I was, but... I turned and walked away, much to his disappointment. "A virus would compromise this unit's combat effectiveness. There is no further need of conversation."

Frustration seeped out of the maverick before he charged toward me, shouting. "You're a fool if you believe you can do an-"

-CRUNCH!-

Just short of reaching me, he halted, his hand twitching in pain as he let out a loud grunt. I could see what had happened without looking, because this was my domain. My spear had stabbed straight through the virus's middle, leaving a digitally failing hole that was quickly spreading outward. "Antivirus in effect. Deletion in progress."

"You- ... need me, you stupid m^&%achine!"

"No." I turned to him and shook my head. "I don't."

I watched as the remaining data comprising Sigma broke down and faded into obscurity... Then, the world went blank once again...

...

"Ciel... This android... If the scans are correct, you've brought in something on another level." My audio sensory seemed to have come back first, but everything was echoed. The one who spoke was another male. Middle-aged. Smooth but monotonous.

"... She... really has all of this potential...?!" Ciel's voice.

I decided to do nothing and simply hear what I could.

The man spoke again. "Lambda, was it...? She was indeed built specifically for combat. Everything about her can be used for the purpose, even the information. Everything was made solely for fighting... I am glad to see that she is on our side. If she became an enemy, we... I'd rather not say."

"...Lambda... just who made you...?"

"... Ah? ... The virus scans are now completely clean. It appears she's also equipped to handle cyber attacks."

"... I knew she'd come with a lot of surprises, but her creator truly thought of everything."

"A few tweaks of these circuits should do it..."

Suddenly, a sensation ran up my spine, making my whole body shudder, clattering atop whatever I was on top of.

"Hooo...! That must have been a doozy for her systems. Regardless, that fixes her Arm Cannon Authority Chip. Copy ability as well."

... I checked through my weapons and permissions. True to the words I'd just heard, my authority chip was back. The Weapons Copy System was also back online. I continued to listen in as they continued to think I was still unconscious.

"Excellent work as always, Cerveau~!"

"... Yes. About the Copy ability she possesses. It's very similar to the original X's. Only other one like it would be Zero's, but even his wasn't a full copy ability. It just changed the element his weapons simulated. You've recreated X's copy module's design before. Doesn't it look near identical?"

"... ... ... You're right...! This IS the same! ... Does that mean her creator was Dr. Light?"

Static clouded my sight once again before taking proper visual focus. My eyes flicked open to reveal the light above, Ciel's staring face obscuring it and the man on side of her. She gasped as her eyes grew wide, then backed away.

I went to rise, but the man put a hand in front of my face as he spoke. "Hold on! You don't want to get up with your head open like that! Who knows what will spill out!"

... My eyes focused on the man as I took in his appearance.

He was another reploid. Middle-aged, as I thought. Stubborn build. Short, silver hair sat styled up on his head. Obscuring his eyes was a white cycloptic Visor with a red line lens that merged with his receptors. His face wore refined wrinkles around his mouth. He wore a thick, green coat with a while line through the middle that split at his legs, which were clothed by black work pants. The pant legs tucked into the gold rings at the top of brown boots with shelled soles and heels. On his hands were white gloves that cuffed around his coat arms.

... I continued to lie back as he came over to my side and took a tool in hand. I couldn't see what was going on after he reached up over my line of view, but I could feel enough with the push down on the top of my head and hear enough with the clunking noise that was followed by a clicking. The electric weening of his tool was definitely him tightening back that which secured whatever he put back well. He gave me a few knocks on the top of my head, unwisely as he spoke over the beeping in my head. "That should do-" My hand immediately snatched up his wrist as he gasped loudly. My grip was tightening quickly and it was obvious by his grunting that I was causing him great pain.

"Wait, stop! He wasn't attacking you!"

...By Ciel's words alone was his wrist spared. My tight grip relinquished and let him slowly pull his wrist free as he massaged it with the other hand, eyeing me cautiously. "M-my my... You're definitely programmed to attack... I just didn't expect there to be so little leniency on when and why..."

I turned and sat up from where I had been laying down, looking first at what I was on. It appeared to be an angled maintenance bench with a heavy-duty design that had seen plenty of use. Looking around, I found myself in a well-lit metallic grey room with no windows. There were multiple screens to the side of me that were on standby with a rotating resistance emblem on the monitor. Beside the man were multiple complex power tools, a "gun"lightly dripped with a tan substance included.

I turned my attention over to the man, then stood up from the bench and onto solid ground before bowing properly. "... I apologize for any pain you have suffered. I am currently in high alert mode."

"..."I"? Not, "This unit"...?"

I straightened up from my bow and turned my head to look at Ciel, who seemed surprised. It wouldn't be the last time. Still, I spoke. "... You appear to be correct. This unit has broken personal conduct rules. It shall refrain-"

"No," she said as she quickly shook her head with a humble smile. "I-I RATHER the "I"! Please don't stop..."

I paused as I processed the order. No, it was not proper, so no beeping going off in my head... Yet still, I made the irrational accepting nod and spoke. "Affirmative. If that is what you wish. Shall I also use other words that refer to "myself", in that case?"

She smiled more naturally and nodded. "Yes. Please. A-and exit high alert mode, for now."

I nodded and switched modes to standby. "Accepted. Awaiting further orders."

She blinked with a blank expression... before it turned into a confused one, Ciel cocking her brow. "Will you really not do anything without me telling you to do it?"

"Incorrect. If a threat of significant level approaches, I will act in the best interest of your well-being, with or without command. Otherwise, however, commands are necessary."

The human turned to look at the man. "Cerveau, can't we do anything to give her something to follow besides me or her objectives? Like, maybe give her emotions?"

Cerveau, as he's called, looked at her with a hand massaging his chin... "Well, no. I don't think it would be smart to force a personality on her that contradicts what she's programmed to do. If it happens at all, Lambda needs to be the one that makes it for herself."

Ciel frowned and bowed her head.

The man smiled and crossed his arms. "You have a big heart, Doctor. However, I can safely say that she only needs time to grow. Give her the time and she will do the rest, be assured."

The girl nodded and looked up at me with a smile. "I'm going to keep getting through to you. Understand? For now, just go and see Alouette. She was scared to death when you suddenly collapsed like that."

I paused for a moment, searching my database for the one called Alouette, but understandably, I didn't have anything tied to that name. "Order cannot be carried out. No such person found in database."

"Oh, that's right," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "You never got her name, but it was the little reploid that was following you around." She smiled brightly as her arm dropped back to her side. "She's also my adopted little sister."

"..." I recalled the little girl she was talking about. The one that carried around a cat plush doll. When I did so, I was left with yet another line of thought... And blurted it out once again. "I can not understand why you so closely associate yourself with machines."

She stared at me with a blank expression.

Cerveau hummed in a slight tinge of irritation.

Regardless of him, Ciel then smiled in a strange way. "I and the other humans don't see them as machines, just like you don't seem a mere machine the more I get to see your reactions."

"... Illogical." It was the only word that came to mind. I looked to the man beside her and asked a very particular question. "I have seen reploids of varying ages since coming here. Young, old, middle-aged... Is this not a design? I can clearly scan metals, plastics, rubbers and circuits within you."

He turned to me and folded his arms. "Nope. Sorry. Reploids used to be that way a century or so ago, but somewhere along the line, reploids evolved into something far more alive. And thanks to X, we were able to confirm just how alive we truly were when his machine body perished, yet he continued to help us, even as he was merely a soul. Gaining what we did, whenever in the past it happened, opened up many things for us. Aging was one of them. Slower than humans, but still sure enough. Some of us age a lot slower. That would be the kids, who can be expected to be around as long as you. Possibly longer. So, as you say, I might be metals, plastics, rubbers and circuits, but I'm also alive, just as much as Ciel and the other humans here are." He gestured a hand to me with an honest enough smile. "Understand?"

I then proceeded to turn my head to Ciel, eyes on her own. "If his words are true, you must be aware of what that means. I am an android, not a re-"

"Before you finish that line..." ... I turned to look at Cerveau. He suddenly grew very serious, losing the smile. "I got a personal look at you while I was repairing that face and head of your's, so I should know what you are more than you."

... I touched my cheek and realized that the skin was perfect, yet again. He repaired the cut...

"You are an X type Reploid." I focused on him again as he spoke, folding his arms. "This means that your internal designs greatly resemble that of X and Zero's. There are a multitude of similarities between you and Zero as you currently are from what we can see. Then, even Ciel said that your copy system is essentially identical to X's." He took a sigh and shook his head, but going on. "I get that your objectives and priorities are all you really have, right now. Your mind was purposely kept simplistic to minimize distraction. However, you have potential beyond your programming. Ciel knows it. I more than know it. Still, everything depends on you, in the end. Potential can be wasted, but I'd rather you didn't. So, I hope you use it." He then let his expression relax into a faint smile as he pointed over to a table next to Ciel with a resistance uniform atop it's surface with his same sort of boots beside it. "Now, please get dressed. You can't walk around camp essentially naked."

... I looked over to Ciel, who pleadingly smiled at me with a humble furrow to her brows. She mouthed a "please"... I turned to the table and walked over, taking the uniform from it and dressing myself as I took the cloak off...

After which, my appearance had understandably changed. My upper body was now covered by a heavily-insulated, green, resistance vest with a resistance emblem on the right hand side of the chest. It also had gold pockets built in at breast level. I left it unzipped, revealing the black bodysuit I now wore over my entire body beneath my new clothing. Where it covered my fingers, every individual last digit of ever finger was white.

On my bottom half, secured by a belt were loosely fitting green pants with gold pockets exactly like the vest. The pant legs tucked into brown, armored boots that were near exactly the same as Cerveaus.

I looked over myself, inspecting the uniform's quality and protectiveness. Turning my head and looking at the man, I blinked. "I do not see the point in apparel that yields little to no addition to one's combat effectiveness. When compared to the armor stolen from my person, this uniform is highly inadequate.

Cerveau shrugged his shoulders and sighed with a wry smile on his face. "The point should be obvious..." He looked up from the ground as he gestured to the uniform. "This is indeed nothing compared to Maverick Hunter class armors, but the main point is to make you appear presentable. And I don't care how well insulated your joints are. You NEED to wear something more than a cloak. It's a part of any normal human and reploid's everyday routine." With his hands on his hips, he grew to smile wider and huffed a short laugh. "Besides! I plan on making you proper armor to replace the missing one as you will undoubtedly come to show your worth. So, just grin and bare the clothes for now."

... It didn't actually matter to me, but I'd keep all this in mind. Looking over to Ciel, she smiled with a great deal of approval.

I simply turned away from the both of them as Ciel's smile vanished. Then, I started walking out of the building. "I shall confirm the status of Alouette's mental state and report back to Dr. Ciel." The door opened as I left, closing behind me. I didn't get to see her reaction then, but I can claim without a doubt that Ciel was worried for me.

... Regardless, now back outside, I had clear orders. Everyone I passed as I walked through the camp was looking at me or talking about me. The things I heard were of this ilk: "Do ya think she's gonna be another Zero?" "I can't read that chick. Way too dry." "Hah. Looks like sleeping beauty woke up~." "She's pretty mom! But uhm... Why does she have all those wires showing?" "Micall! Show some class- it's not our place to judge a reploid's appearance! ...Though... Yes... I do suppose that she does seem incomplete in ways..." The comments were neither scathing nor important to me.

Without incident, I arrived at the building Alouette was in front of, seeing her sitting on a stool outside while she stared at the ground and hugged the cat significantly tighter than when I last saw her. I walked up to her as she instantly noticed my feet with a hum, then looked up and smiled, immediately hopping up from her seat. "Oh! You woke up!" Her voice reflected every bit of the youth she held.

I crouched down to her level, resting an arm upon a leg for support. "Ciel informed me that you showed great concern for my well-being."

With a puzzled blink and stare, she tilted her head. "Yeah. I was really worried about you, Ms. Lambda, if that's what you're trying to say."

I blinked at the use of the name, even from her. "I surmise that I merely ran out of battery life, due to strenuous use of Gear Seven as a precaution taken to make certain the prisoner could not escape or fight back."

"Gear Seven..." She thought for a moment, then pulled one arm away from her cat and pointed at my eyes. "Is that why your eyes aren't red in the pupils anymore?"

"Affirmative. Signs of this mode's activation are red pupils and the rear core's activation. Gear Seven draws out the full strength of my body, giving it an approximate increase of one-thousand percent to multiple statistics. However, it does not directly increase defense and is the one mode that can drain battery life faster than it can be replenished. Most battles will end far before then, as it can be run for approximately two hours at full battery life."

She smiled and nodded. "Then, you sound pretty flawless. I wish I were more like you..."

... I tilted my head. "That is illogical. You possess traits I do not. Emotions. Self-determination. Superior technological advancements."

She blinked. Then, with a grin, she noted something. "Emotions? Well, I don't know if that can count. You seem curious enough. Isn't that an emotion?"

... Like many times with Ciel, I had no response for this. "..." I was trying to understand what she just told me, but all that came out of my mouth was, "What?"

She giggled to herself and hugged her cat tight enough to make the cloth rustle. "See? You wanna know why I said that, but in doing that, you confirmed it for yourself!"

I looked up from her and attempted to understand why these questions came, but the definition for curiosity was the only thing I could link to it... "Curiosity: The wanting desire to know and to learn..."

"See?" I looked back down to her and found her smiling and slightly closer to me. "You did it again by checking the definition."

... I didn't know what was going on or why I was suddenly so... The word seems to escape me, at the moment...

Allouette blinked out of her smile when I fell silent... but then, she smiled ever so slightly again as her brows furrowed. "I'm sorry. Did I confuse you? I hate to go there again, but confusion is also an emotion. It's what someone feels when they aren't sure about something or just don't understand it."

...I spoke. "You are... correct... I believe this is as you say. Confusion..." I looked at my own hand. "... Curiosity... Confusion... These are emotions of ... mine..." ... After a moment, I looked up and at Allouette. "Regardless, my current objective is to determine your current mental status. Are you... relieved... knowing that I have recovered?"

She nodded and smiled wider with less nervousness. "If your trying to ask if I'm happy to see that you're okay, then yes."

"Acknowledged. However, I urge you not to get attached. I am merely a machine, despite seeming to have gained something I was never intended to have."

She shook her head and relaxed her smile. "Well, sorry, but that just makes me want to more."

I blinked... I was still new to this, but.. it confused me. "You and Ciel seem alike in this opinion. I do not fully understand. It is, perhaps, beyond my capability to understand." ... I stood up, turning away, much to her confused hum as the smile left her face. "This concludes my current duty of confirming Allouette's current mental status. I will now return to Ciel."

"Can I come with you, then?"

I turned my head and looked down at her. She seemed to walk closer. I turned away and began to walk. "You may do as you wish. It is not within my power to deny you." Her footsteps could be heard directly behind me, audible enough.

She definitely would have followed me the entire way... But I stopped as a beeping went off in my head. "Multiple machine and reploid signatures approaching from the west en masse."

She hummed in question as one of our own reploids, male, came running through the camp with a plasma gun in his arms and a severe look about his face. "Unknowns! Multiple unknowns enroute from the west!"

At his word, everyone that was able and ready for an attack- those with guns and in full uniform for combat- immediately went out in that direction. Everyone else hid in a building.

As they did so, I calculated the strength and number of the unknown forces, turning to where tens of signatures were assembled. Individual stats categorized them as threat level tens and twenties. One among them was a fifty... "If the approaching force is indeed a hostile one, allied units will be insufficient in number and strength. Chances of successful repel is ten percent..." I looked down to Allouette, who looked worried. "Locate Dr. Ciel and hide. I will engage the unknowns in the case of a hostile attack."

She frowned and bowed her head... but nodded. "Just don't leave like Zero..."

"..." I had nothing to say. I simply took off running, leaving Allouette yelping.

Sprinting passed surprised soldiers heading out to insure the same thing I wished to know, I made my way toward the potential enemy, recalling what the knight said. They would come for her... And it appeared too coincidental that a possible threat found it's way here after that.

As I got a safe distance out of the encampment, I slowed down and eventually came to a halt. The fighters looking to protect their camp slowly caught up to me as I stood there. The first to arrive was a black haired human woman of common stature and build. She bared a gun out at the enemy in anticipation as she eyed me. "If you're prepared to fight on our side, then you're a friend." Staring ahead at the approaching forces, she grew nervous. "... I just hope we don't have to."

"I recommend you not engage."

She looked at me with a cocked brow and went to say something, but I cut her off.

"Threat levels have been compared. You and your soldiers are no more than level tens to their tens and twenties. Within the approaching mass is a single threat level fifty capable of inflicting mass casualties." I looked at her with the same blankness I gave everyone. "It is no exaggeration to claim that your forces would be wiped out entirely, should conflict arise."

She looked out to the forces again with a shaken resolve. Her face was contorted in a strained glare, sweat dripping the side of her face. "I-I already knew we were outnumbered, but I figured we just needed to be smart...! We're truly that out of our league?!"

My business concluded, I walked on alone, surprising the human as she gasped and put an arm out. "Wait, what are you doing?! You just said-"

"As I am, I will be enough. None else need risk themselves."

After I said that, she just watched as I went on alone with a taken aback stare. As the other soldier gathered around her, she turned and put her arms up! "Hold! Hold!" They all stopped, looking at her like she was crazy.

One spoke out as he waked over to her, glaring with his hardened eyes. "What the hell! Why?! We can all fight and handle ourselves! It's not like when Zero was here!"

"No, it's every bit like when he was here!"

He flinched and cocked a brow at her.

She merely held firm, then looked out at me as I walked to meet the force. "I may have joined right after, but I was there when Craft attacked us. He swathed through us like butter and it took Zero to stop him."

He glared at her, then out at me. "And?! She's not Zero! I bet she's not half the Reploid!"

"Yeah?" She got up into his face and scowled. "Well, boy! Are YOU Zero? 'Cause if you are, then I'll let you go out there and fight! I get you're above my rank and number, but I'm telling you that you'll be dead in seconds!" She moved back once the soldier looked like he submitted, looking down and away with grit teeth. She sighed and looked out to me again as I stopped a good distance from them. "She's an unknown, but we were both there. Ciel said she took down that strong looking Knight by herself and we saw her tote her around with one arm. Who else do we have like that?"

She looked back to him as he seemed to have cooled off, lifting his head, but his hardened eyes didn't give. "Yeah... But we should be strong enough to protect our own base... I'm sick of relying on Maverick Hunters..."

She nodded and looked at the potential enemy. "I get that more than you think. After all, I'm human..."

As the enemy approached my stationary position, I got a good look at what I would be fighting, should the worst indeed come.

Purple "reploids" marched toward me, essentially alike to each other with sophisticated robotic structures. Nothing about them was different, but they were vaguely human-esque in bodily shape. Jet-packs mounted to their backs Laser canons mounted to the shoulder, thick carbon-metal armor of simple design. A full helmet surrounding their entire head with a plexi-glass face visor silhouetting the actual face from view, yet allowing a piercing red gaze to penetrate. They were made to look heavy and like troopers, I assume, but that they were quantity and not quality was a dead give away. They were fodder and they possibly knew it. It could have been the way they were programmed...

With them were the stronger, far larger "golems" of sturdy, incredibly thick polymer. Far more complex and bulky than the troopers, they hovered over the wasteland ground on two rocket boosters acting in the stead of legs, burning the ground with fires erupting from their cores. Their heads were essentially blocks with a face and eyes carved in. Their bodies were nearly made like furnaces from trains and had grills on their chests that radiated much like one, too. The arms were massive and thick, the four fingered hands more like bending rectangles of heavy rubber and coil... if they even had them. If not, they were replaced by triple-headed laser turrets mounted on either side of the body. The legs were all engine and thruster, making them appear stubby, yet thick as any other part on them. There were a total of five in all and each was a level 20 threat, making a full level 100 together, but not simulating the true power of one.

There were those with faces, as well. They were reploids just like those of the resistance, but somewhat stronger, it seemed. Threat level 15. They wore carbon armor much like the purple, mindless robots. These, however, were not simple. They were able to converse with one another and wielded an assortment of weapons. An electric baton. An energy sword. A buster shot gun much like the soldiers behind me, but obviously an upgraded version. I should be calling them rifles. The gun had been modified to have a long stock for the shoulder, a reflex scope and a longer barrel. They were the most common weapon. Back to the soldiers themselves, each wore a blue uniform with a different emblem on the shoulder or chest. A red, italic "X" Crossed out the resistance triangle, meaning that they rejected that alignment.

Each and every one of these soldiers stopped yards away from me, a wall of combatants. They seemed to stare, measuring me up... Another figure with a vastly higher threat level than the others walked out from the crowd. This man was the threat level fifty...

He was a reploid. The theme of his design seemed to be that of a viking. Hulking in size, he had a very muscular build that was unlike the doll-like designs I'd seen up until now. No, he seemed far more complex. Every massive muscle was made with cord after cord after cord of "muscle fiber". The exact materials were unknown. He was filthy with what was probably sand, metal shavings, reploid oil and general grime. The armor he wore was not much cleaner and seemed light, made from organic materials such as hide, small horns or teeth studding shoulder and knee pads and leathers. His boots were furred and wrapped in chains from the top down to the ankle. The true armor must have been his body.

His face was obscured by an old, worn, crudely made helm with massive bull horns mounted to it. He had no eye color, being that his eyes were totally white. His brown hair was long enough to reach down passed the helm in the back of his head. He had a grizzly beard of the same color.

His hands were massive, as was his weapon: a high-tech axe that may have been as large as me, yet he held it like it weighed nothing. A rope was tied crudely to it's handle, the other end tied to his wrist and wound around it to keep length under control. it's double heads were rounded and thick. The central support was secured by a massive "screw, yet I was reading the presence of a spin function. they probably could act like spin saws. Why was that necessary? I wasn't entirely sure, but it appeared he liked to throw his weapon. He lacked any other ranged options.

All of this made him look the brute he was. A fighter meant for nothing but the "sport". With a slack jawed smirk, he straightened his back up and rested his axe over a shoulder. "So, the sleeping rat woke up! I know your face!" His voice was as burly as he looked, but it seemed to have some charisma to it.

I looked up into his face, showing no expression as I always had. "Why have you come here?"

He let out a hearty laugh, holding his gut. When he calmed down, he pointed down at me and huffed a laugh. "You mean you yourself aren't enough reason?! I saw everything! You fight like a caged animal!" With his fist on his hip, her grinned wide. "I lllike it! Primal! Intense! Blood-crazed! Or should I say oil?!"

I merely blinked.

When he saw I wasn't stirred by his attitude, he cocked a brow and leaned down to look into my eyes, squinting... "And yet the lack of spark in your eyes is dull as wooden sticks. I was expecting infernos, but someone already went and pissed it out."

I merely spoke. "State your name and purpose. Useless banter will yield nothing of meaning." A beeping went off in my head as my eyes stared at the reticle that appeared at the corner of my vision. Ciel drew near. She was with the soldiers I bid stay behind. Regardless, I turned my attention back to the barbarian.

He rose up straight again with a cocked brow... then erupted into a hearty laugh yet again, as if he were completely mad. "Too right! Too true! Words are rotten air and people pass enough of it!"

The axe planted itself hard into the ground by it's tips as the warrior stood tall before me, chest puffed out. "My name is Yngveld, Axe Warrior of The Song! The strongest arm within the Icons!" With an intense glare and crazed grin, he went on. "And my purpose, ya piss-eyed vixen, is to put death to a traitor pupil of our leader! Hand her over or go to the same block!"

I copied the data down as I shook my head. "Request denied. The unit being held made clear threats on my existence. This was deemed a criminal action and therefore, she had been sentenced to serve time as a prisoner for an indefinite period of time. Furthermore, her actions seem as though they serve your interests, being that you too seem bound for the same course of action. How has she betrayed these "icons", if this is indeed the case?"

He seemed to get all of that, but chuckled with a smirk before giving a response. "Heh Heh. Well, see... That's all fine and dandy, except for the fact that she let you take her alive. An Icon is the very pinnacle of what all reploids should be, just as Zero was during the whole war on Neo Arcadia. And if an Icon can no longer serve their purpose, they get the axe." The mention of Zero caught my attention, but it could wait.

Yngvald let go of his axe as the rope served to be the only thing keeping it in his grasp as he raised his mighty arms up as if cradling the very sun in his hands. "Now that Neo Arcadia is dead and it's rulers along with it, reploids can finally take their place as the rightful dominant race of this planet- this dirty, old, broken world begging for strong! We shall build a great, new nation for our mechanical brethren to call home!"

He quickly took his axe in hand and swung it to his side! "A home for reploids and reploids alone! Weakling humans will bow to our might and pray for mercy! A mercy never given to their "servant machines"!" He smirked down at me and paused... before offering me a hand. "You too are a machine. Strong. Fierce. A worthy candidate for such a nation, unlike the traitor. The master would welcome you with open arms as he has my brothers and sisters in arms. .. What say you?"

"... You're claims have a contradiction."

He blinked in a confusion, retracting his hand as I spoke.

I looked up into his eyes. "You stated that the Knight reploid allowed us to take her alive. However, she was prepared for termination. I, too, agree it would have been simpler to destroy her. However, Dr. Ciel commanded me to instead take her prisoner. Had it not been for said command, I would have eliminated the reploid. There has been no treason with these facts present and true. As you supplied the rules in which an "Icon" might be considered a traitor, it is thus contradictory for you to name her a traitor."

The viking sighed a bit and glared down at me. "If your claims are true, then you don't mind backing them up with your actions?"

I paused... Then nodded. "It appears my victory in combat is the only "proof" you mean to accept. Do I assume correct?"

Yngvild grinned wide and chuckled through his teeth as he walked back from me. "Yea, it is! You'll fight and prove your "truth" or die by your lie! But...!" He spread his arms out to gesture to the miniature army he commanded. "You'll need to beat all of my men before you get to fight me! I've beaten more than this in my lifetime! If you can't defeat them all, you have no chance against the likes of my grit!"

Every soldier readied their weapon and got into a battle stance. They all meant to fight, as he commanded.

At this point, I felt something burning and intense... I hadn't realized it, but I was making a face... a glare. "... As you wish. I accept your terms."

The warrior threw a hand forward in a point and shouted, "CHAAAAARGE!"

Every combatant from Yngveld's side mobilized on my position or took aim with rifles or laser cannon mounts.

"Lambdaaa!" A call rang out from behind me. I looked back and saw Ciel running from the crowd with my spear's compacted form in one hand and a desperate look on her face. As she drew close enough, she reeled back with her arm and threw the weapon for a grand distance as it spun through the air like a baton.

I turned to face the enemy as my weapon came down toward me, it's spin slowing. I put up a hand and caught it in my palm before holding it out parallel to my chest, thumb on the release button.

As purple enemy foot soldiers baring sabers and batons came close, I pressed the button. In just a short second, the pole extended out in both directions and out of the hilt shot it's energy blades.

In a single, horizontal, wide sweeping slash, the closest four were bysected, their top sides tumbling over and off of their legs. A chain of explosions blew what was left to bits.

The ranged troops fired upon me, lasers and bullets as well as grenades launched my way.

I ducked the first wave of lasers, then fired my boosters as holes were hollowed out in the bottoms of my boots and I was propelled forward and under many beams and bullets. Purple droids rushed me as I slid to a halt. I kicked one away as I stabbed my spear through another. Ripping it up from the bot as it blew apart, I brought the blade down on another droid and sliced it down the middle as the two sides of it's body split from one another, a burning orange glow marking the slice through machine parts and circuit boards. It exploded into a rain of bits and a cloud of black smoke.

My eyes flicked up and sighted a laser headed for me. I swung the spear up on it's blunt side and deflected the projectile away and into the sky. I swung it down and to the side again as I batted a second laser away, then another and another. My reflexes grew faster and faster to compensate for the focused fire.

As my eyes spotted a falling grenade coming my way, I flipped the spear over and whirled around to bat it away with the pole and back where it came from into the crowd. It went of in a loud -BAM!- as a cloud of smoke and shrapnel took out multiple soldier machines at once.

A beep went off in my head as a purple soldier ran up behind me and swung it's saber horizontally. I back-flipped over the strike as I spun over it's head and stabbed my spear down the middle as it's body crunched and crumbled on my spear. When I landed back on solid ground, another beep went off in my head and I swung my spear to the side, throwing the short-circuiting robot off of it and into another. It collided and sent both down to the ground and sliding away, before the broken robot exploded and destroyed it's ally in the process.

Every resistance soldier watching me fight was in awe. Ciel, however, had her hands held down to her chest and a worried frown on her face, even as I was handling the enemy well. "... This isn't what we should be doing right now... The fighting needs to end, not start again...!"

"We all feel the same," said the blue-haired woman, who walked up beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ciel turned to look at her as the woman watched me fight. "We all want this to end, but we're just one side. Until everyone is on this one side and understands our desire for peace, fighting is sadly necessary." She looked at the doctor and sighed. "Whether a hero dies or not, those sides don't just disappear once one problem is solved. It's up to those left behind to make it the rest of the way, right?"

Ciel paused for the moment to absorb her words... before wearily smiling. She nodded. "You're right, I suppose." She looked out as she watch me fight and tear through another soldier, leaving it to fall to the ground as I rushed by and let it explode. Her smile fell as she watched. "... Still... I don't think killing is the answer to bridging and uniting all sides... That's why I had Lambda spare that Knight..."

As the bullets and laser fire flew by me, I rushed a turret golem at full speed, aiming to take it down to rid myself of a ranged attacker. It fired multiple high-power lasers from it's six cannons, all converging on my course. I jumped up high as I arked toward my target, the lasers crashing into each other on the ground and exploding into green energy particles beneath me. It charged another six shots for my airborn position.

I acted fast and aimed my spear's head at the ground, thumb ready on the release button. I timed my button press to it's firing as six converging lasers sailed toward me.

My spear's head shot down at high speed, an energy chain running from the pole's inside to the head. The head stabbed itself deep into the ground in front of the golem. Then, the pole began to suck the chain back in, pulling me out of the air quickly as the lasers sailed over head and collided to the same resulting energy explosion as before.

I landed back on solid ground as the spearhead reconnected to the pole with a sharp -CLACK!- Looking up at my target, it aimed it's turrets down at me and began to charge up energy as it's turrets sparked and weened.

Immediately, I jumped up and onto it's bulky body as it stared up at me and corrected it's aim. I brought my spear back and stabbed down into it's head, spear busting right through it and leaving it unrecognizable broken as it sparked and crackled. It's hovering stopped as it crashed to the ground, laser cannons all falling out of aim and firing every which way into the air.

I leapt from the failing robot and came to land yards away before it finally blew up in a spectacular blaze of fire, force and smoke. It's many parts fell around the area. A severed and broken cannon even slammed down and embedded into the cracked ground beside me.

Upon seeing one of their own fall, two other golems, both owning actual arms, surrounded my position as I stood up straight, looking at each.

Yngveld simply grinned as he leaned against his axe and watched. "That looks like a tight spot you're in! So, what will you do about it?!" He was daring me.

It wasn't really a question. Fight. That was all I could do. I still needed to keep in mind the incredible strength behind each of their individual arms. That, and the remaining soldiers were regrouping, including the other two golems remaining.

As the two golems grew close, they both reeled back a mighty arm and threw their fists down upon me. I side-stepped both punches as them crashed into and broke the ground. I flipped back and aimed my spear's head at one as I landed sliding back. Energy charged in the tips and shot off in a high-power beam. It connected with a golem's wrist and blew it's hand clean off as it staggered back, only to be caught and steadied by it's fellow golem. I lifted a heel and boosted back toward them, running at full speed.

The undamaged robot threw a punch down at me, but narrowly missed as I volted myself up and atop it's arm before swinging and slicing it's head clean off of it's shoulders. Electricity surged out of it's remaining neck's wiring.

I was about to jump away, but the damaged golem took grasp of me as my defenses were lowered, then pulled me off of it's falling brother to stare into me. I didn't put up a struggle, despite the fact that I was trapped and steadily getting squeezed tighter and tighter. It intended to crush me and my current mode wasn't sufficient to stop it...

I merely closed my eyes as electricity began to surge through my body. "Gear Seven..." I opened my eyes as the pupils dyed red with a flash. Power burst forth within me as I burst open it's grip by breaking it's hand. "Engage!"

It stumbled back from me as it attempted to recover, but I landed on the ground and immediately rushed forward with blinding speed. With weapon in hand, I leapt toward it's body and plunged my spear forward as I charged intense electric current into the weapon from my arm. The blade's color became a golden yellow as it spark with electricity. Upon contact, the blade's energy exploded forth and blew through the body, forcing a massive hole clean through it as I emerged and landed on the other side. It immediately fell over and exploded.

Yngveld's eyes grew wide from what he had witnessed and what was to come made him grin progressively wider with building excitement. "The animal wakes!"

True to his words, I fought much more intensely.

I shot toward the next group of soldiers and, with blinding swipes of my spear, ripped them limb from limb, even as they fired upon me.

A ranged group of reploid soldiers fired upon me with their rifles, raining laser shots toward me. I boosted from the spot to the side as I spun, then landed and took off toward them like a rocket, dust kicking up behind me.

One of them gasped as he tried to shoot for where I was going to be. I zigged between the shots faster than he could anticipate and before long at all, I was before him and his comrades, a glowing glare baring down on him.

His expression was of terror as he froze, much like the rest. I reeled back an empty fist as he began to step back and threw it as he screamed. My punch crushed into his gun and smashed it apart as pieces littered the ground.

The reploid fell over as his comrades simply stood there, too afraid of me to do a thing with how much they trembled.

I pulled my fist back to my side and I stared down at him. I then looked around at the soldiers whom had stopped their attack. "... I will state this only once! Those of you who do not wish to continue, lay down your weapons!"

The soldiers immediately in front of me threw down their weapons immediately. They valued their lives more than whatever this was, apparently. The reploid resistance soldiers that had defected all seemed to at least think twice about what they were doing as they stood there, chattering amongst each other. It was as much as I could expect.

Yngveld smashed his axe down on the ground, glaring out at these soldiers with disgust. "Cowards!" They all stared at him with either fear or fully alert expressions. "Icons never surrender! Traitors the lot of ya to the cause!" He threw his glare around at the soldiers around him with a growl. "Any who dare lay down weapon to the enemy will lay down their heads, helped along by axe end! Am I clear?!"

Every reploid was shaken by his words... Guns steadied on my position as I looked around. Blades and batons readied in all other's hands. Fear of destruction drove them.

The soldiers before me couldn't take weapon in hand for lack of courage. One still sat there on the ground with no choice in the matter.

I turned my back to the unwilling and focused my attention on the remaining enemy... These reploids were a clear Threat to all others... Yet, protocol was no longer clear... Ciel didn't want any more meaningless loss of life, human or otherwise... And so, my course was no longer clear.

"ATTAAACK!" Again, the reploid soldiers fired their guns and charged at me baring melee weapons. Not only them, but the purple pawns and remaining golems as well.

...It wasn't the time to hesitate.

I dashed forward into a sprint and wove through the gunfire, lasers needling the air all around. I'd deflect as many shots as I could away or even bat a few back at the firing squads. The projectiles sailing back would either catch an unlucky combatant or their guns, effectively disarming them whichever way.

Sliding under the next wave of fire as a few shots came close to me, I spun under a mindless soldier's swing, spear sweeping in and slicing it's head off. It spun off of it's shoulders while it's body collapsed over. I swept a leg out and kicked the head toward a running reploid, smacking her in the face. She held a hand to her head and groan, unaware of my rapid approach.

Just when she was shaking off the blow, she shook her head and opened her eyes to gasp into a strike to the side of her face by my spear's pole. She fell over, shuddering before she gave up and fell unconscious.

Erecting my arm forward in front of me with outstretched fingers pointed at rushing soldier, my hand suddenly split apart into five sections for every digit, each individual piece sliding back and over my wrist to clamp down and reveal an energy cannon's barrel. My sight targeted every individual soldier in front of me. The default targeting system highlighted every weakest spot, but I personally made corrections to spare the reploids among them.

I took aim and fired off screaming, red-hot energy shots. They sped toward their targets, blasting the mindless drones in the chest or face as they burst apart one by one.

Firing off a second wave of shots, I blasted the reploids in the leg or weapon wielding arm, either one being blown clean off and leaving them on the ground, writhing and holding their useless stumps. The screams they let out were all too real, but none of it was fatal. They could be repaired.

A scream came from behind me, a reploid jumping for me with an energy saber gripped in both hands over his head.

Acting fast, I whipped around as I swung my spear in a wide arc over his head, much to his shock. The stroke sliced off both of his hands as they let the saber slip from grip and shut off.

His hands and the saber's hilt tumbled to the ground beside me as I reformed my free arm's hand and caught the reploid, them slammed him into the ground as he screamed. Pulling my hand away, I left him trembling there, his chest and wrists bleeding both electricity and oil.

The Viking had been watching all I had been doing, squinting when he realized I hadn't killed any of the reploid soldiers thus far.

Transforming my arm into it's cannon form, I left the crippled man where he'd fallen and sprinted off toward the remaining combatants. They were now a thinned few including only purple robots and the two remaining golems, of which were turret types. In fact, every remaining soldier was a ranged fighter firing upon me.

I weaved through the laser fire and grenade blasts, drawing closer to them as I took aim when I could and shot at what I could. My shots only connected half of the time, but when they did, I either disabled more of the foot soldiers or blasted their heads to bits scattered on the wasteland floor as their bodies fell where they would.

Those that had been disabled, however... They simply ran at me, charging the remaining energy in their bodies to critical mass. They effectively became walking bombs. The first ran toward me as I halted my advance. I then jumped away as the robot's body began to glow, then exploded into a fifteen foot blast of force, fire and smoke. Having observed this, I looked out at the remaining four disabled soldiers still running straight at me.

Charting a course through them, I took off down the middle as I simultaneously dodged through laser fire from the golems. Each would explode if I got within ten feet of them, but that gave me enough time to simply run passed them as they exploded.

Before long, I drew in close to the remainder of their forces and went to work quickly slashing through each and every one of them, even as they made attempts to flee. One by one, each fell and blew apart into scrap until a single golem remained, firing frantically to take me down. Running through the fire, I raised my spear up and reeled it back. Then, I threw it straight at the golem's chest. I sailed through laser fire and traveled the air, before it's energy blade tore into the robot's massive chest. It began to spark as all fire from it's turrets ceased and it began to slump.

I jumped up and sprung off of it's sparking chest as I pulled my spear free. The sparking electricity grew out of control while I slid along the ground and away from the failing machine. It violently spasmed before it blew apart, clouding myself and the area in fire and smoke.

... As I walked my way out from the smoke and flames, I had already began walking toward Yngveld, reforming my free hand from cannon form. All was silent upon the wreckage and flame covered battlefield. His face was of confusion and outrage, an uncertain scowl in his eyes as he ground his teeth. When I drew within thirty feet of the massive reploid, I stopped to hear him speak. "You did not kill my reploid men... You'd deny them a proper and proud death as Icons?"

I merely stared at the man for the longest moment. I had no idea why I chose to act as I did. I had already marked them as threats, yet the one order Ciel had given me seemed to leave a noticeable imprint...

The viking snorted at my actions and shook his head, yanking his axe out of the ground. "I'll admit to this... You're a fire I've not seen since Zero himself!" He grinned laughed a little. "But you're nothing but a dog, just like X!" He got down into a low down battle stance, legs agate and arms at the ready. "You serve a worm!"

After that statement, I finally found my words, glaring up at him. "Your every word lacks logic and reason. I fail to understand how humans are lesser than us when without them, we would not exist. How have you come to dislike your very creators so strongly?"

He merely stared at me with a strong contempt glare... before he stood straight and sunk his axe into the ground, both hands on the pommel. "You want to know why I hate humans...? Really? I think you're a perfect example of why, Slave."

The word ... strangely burned me to hear. "Slave...?"

"Slave," he repeated, before closing his eyes and explaining in the most rational manner I'd seen from him. "All robots were made to be the slaves and servants of humans. Reploids we are called, but robots we are to humans. A tool. That's what it would have always been, if we were left idiots. We all know where we came from, but we are so much stronger than our creators, who would just look at us as beneath them. But we're not meat. We don't spoil like humans do. So, I ask you." He opened his eyes and looked down upon me. " You were made by a human and now, you serve a human. Yet, you've proven yourself far beyond them and their meager strength. Why would you listen to someone you could easily break like a twig? Because some string of words tells you to?"

I blinked and recited what I had many times before. "My main objectives are to determine whether or not Zero is alive and, if so, to neutralize or destroy the target. I am also tasked with protecting humans and reploids as well as following orders from the human known as Ciel." I further explained after a pause. "... Furthermore, while Ciel may give me orders to an extent, my primary objective of neutralizing or destroying Zero will force me to override any such orders as the one who gave me said objective has high authority. This objective was not given to me by a human."

The reploid's eyes widened for a split second before he scowled. "Nonsense and lies! I will not be deceived!"

I merely stared for the longest time... before words finally came. "There is no further call for conversation. You clearly mean to deny anything I tell you."

He immediately raised his axe high as he got ready to give the first move. "And that is the "logic" you finally grasp!" With a mighty roar, he brought the axe down in a powerful swing.

I quickly side-stepped as the axe split the earth beside me. He pulled the weapon from the ground and followed up immediately by striking for me with the other head. I raised my spear in defense as the axe's blade resounded with a -TANG- against the pole. He roared and added further force to the already powerful swing, bashing me away as he spun around in a jump, then landed on his massive feet, crushing the ground beneath him.

I sailed away a great distance from him before my feet ever found the ground again, but it sent me flipping over and tumbling once or twice before I could vault with my spear and land back on my feet, sliding a bit still.

He was far more power than the knight, even if he might have very little speed. Not only that, but it appeared I was correct about his body. The while we were talking, I was scanning him. He was pure power and defense. He'd take much more effort to defeat...

As I came to a stop, I dropped low to the ground and jolted into a sprint at full speed. I transformed my free hand back into cannon form as I pointed both it and my spear out at him as both charged energy. From my cannon a rapid volley of energy shots blasted from the barrel continuously. From the spear, high power lasers shot off at high speed, but in slow succession.

With his axe, he guarded himself from it all, but the spear's lasers at least made him slip back little by little. When I neared him again, I sprung from the ground and spiraled into a stab straight at him. He jumped aside fast enough and I flew passed, but the spear still just barely nicked one of his axe's twin blade, leaving a burning mark through it, much to his annoyance. As I landed and slid the ground to a halt, so did he come landing with a -Crash!-, making the dirt beneath me shudder. I whirled around quickly as he raised his weapon high and made for another mighty swing.

Before he could, I took quick aim with my arm cannon and fired for his eye. At that range, the shot connected and the great man howled in immediate pain for a second. He scowled down at me with his wounded eye closed, a new burn mark over the entire lid and brow. He once again raised the axe high and swiftly brought it down. The time I bought was all I needed to spin out from in front of him and take a wide swing at his side with my spear as the ground crunched beneath his axe.

The slice was made through his "kidney" region as he groaned through the pain. And yet still, he merely pressed on and swung his axe horizontal my way. I ducked back as the swing rushed over my face as I lost my balance and flipped back from him and a second swing that nicked a boot's width. As I landed flat on my feet, I looked at him and assessed his battle style.

He was the overpowering type. Every move he made was aimed at instant destruction. Many of his attacks just now could have dealt severe bodily damage to me. Even as a combat model, that amount of damage would cripple. In other words... one wrong step is all he needed, potentially. This assumes he were to hit a vital area. I would have been able to survive a blow easily if only I had my armor... I was constantly reminded of my "naked" vulnerability...

He brought his axe to his opposite side before the blade began to power up and wrrrr as they spun at buzz-saw speed. Then, he threw it as it whirled through the air, tethered to the man's arm by the chain.

As the axe drew nearer and nearer, I held my ground, readying my spear.

Ciel looked on in horror as the blades grew dangerously close to me. She stepped forward and shouted at the top her her lung. "LAMBDA!"

I immediately and quickly ducked the blades as my free hand reformed and slammed it's palm up into the axe's center, throwing it up from it's course as it's blades still spun.

Both Ciel and the viking gasped. He grabbed the running chain, yanking the axe back as I swung up to slice it in two... but I missed and the axe whirled back to it's owner.

Yngveld caught it perfectly by the hilt, glaring with a low growl. With a smirk, he huffed a laugh and spoke. "Clever... You're the first to be brave enough to try that. But No. I'm not stupid. Metal versus energy? Even I know energy wins." ... He stopped smirking as I stood straight and merely glared at him. With a slightly cocked brow, he came again. "You fight like our Leader in ways... What is your name?"

After a great pause, I spoke. "I am designated Type-Y, model number nine five three eight five one two. Recently, I was given the unofficial name of Lambda." Stepping forward and pointing my spear at him, I stated the following. "I recommend you surrender yourself. You cannot win."

"Type Y Lambda, mh...?" He grinned from ear to ear. "X, Y, Z. How poetic. It makes me wanna vomit! The one who made you definitely wanted people to compare you with the great ones! What a JOKE!" And immediately the smile was gone, replace by a heavy scowl.

I hadn't realized the glare in my eyes. I did, however, raise my spear and point it at the viking.

He refirmed his grip on the axe and held it out toward me. "Did that make you angry? Do you hate being compared to your targets? Good, because you're a shameless fraud. A piece of junk like you doesn't deserve to be in the same category as Zero!"

... I merely spoke these words. "You referred to X and Zero as "the great ones"..."

He cocked a brow at me with a wordlessly open mouth.

Before he spoke, I went on, "According to the resistance, both have served human and reploid kind alike. You bestow honoraries on individuals you should hate. Those who served humans."

He began to scowl more intensely, quivering with his anger... "Not another wor-!"

I ignored him and finished, "Yet another contradiction."

With a rage filled roar, he rushed toward me with axe raised high. The ground caved with every thunderous step of his mighty feet. His face contorted with a lionous, teeth baring scowl.

I wasted no time in leaning forward with my spear readied in my hand, then blasted forth in a booster propelled dash right at him.

His axe came down and my spear shot up, both at blinding speed.

-CRUNCH!- -THOMB!-

His axe went sailing away from his hand as it crashed into the ground, embedding itself into the sundered ground. The chain tied to it was all that kept it tethered to the man's arm... That didn't much matter. His arm had been sliced off, now laying uselessly on the ground, much to his wide-eyed shock as he leaned into me with that side. The culprit was my spear, still crackling as it sat with post against Yngveld's burning stump.

I was not unscathed, however. There was a large, sparking cut in my other arm's upper section, exposed through a new rip in my clothing. The entire arm had been rendered unusable as it dangled there at my side. Still, if I hadn't been the faster of the two, this situation would have either been reversed... or I would be in two.

Across the field was silence. Every soldier, resistance or turn-coat, sat with shock and awe in their expressions. Ciel, however, breathed a sigh of relief from afar.

Groaning, the warrior forced himself to glare down at me, baring his teeth. "... And so I wasn't strong enough. I have no right to call myself an... icon..." He winced from the sparks that shot from what was left of his arm.

Whipping around, I swung my spear toward his neck... but stopped short of cutting his head off, my spear's head crackling with energy.

He stared down at me with a disgusted glare on his face. "... You are the winner of this battle. You are my enemy and I am weak... Finish the job and make it quick."

I paused... I was conflicted, yet again. This man was a clear threat. He named himself the enemy to mankind and human sympathizers on multiple levels. He was a serious threat. And yet, my priorities had been compromised... Ciel's one unofficial order had done far more than it ever should have. I didn't understand.

The viking groaned and hardened his glare as he took my spear's pole in his hand. I stared up at his face. "You're softness disgusts me. If you can't do it, then I will. Because I will NEVER sell myself to the enemy."

And then...

-SLSH!- -THUNK!-

... I couldn't have understood the strength of his ideals.

I watched his body fall to the ground, stepping aside as it crunched the ground beneath itself.

I couldn't have anticipated what that made me feel... I simply stared down at what was left of him with my mouth ever so slightly agape and eyes scrutinizing what I saw in a squint.

"L-LAMBDA!"

Upon hearing Ciel's voice, my senses returned to me. My expression returned to a blankness before I closed my eyes and powered Gear Seven down. My back's core flickered off. I opened my now normal eyes, pupils returned to a black as I turned to look at Ciel, who was flanked by two resistance guards, one the female human I told to make the rest stand down.

She and Ciel were staring down at the now headless reploid which had taken it's own life.

I merely spoke to affirm the obvious. "Targets have all been neutralized or destroyed..." I opened my mouth to say more, but merely closed it again, seeing as Ciel had dipped her head and sighed, frowning.

"Y-yes... Thank you, Lambda... and..." She looked up at me, but the frown never left her face. "... I'm glad you're safe... just..." Her gaze slowly drifted back down to the reploid viking's corpse. "... I wish it could have ended differently for him..." She nearly looked at the head, but flinched away from it and closed her eyes. Shaking her head and looking away, she fell silent.

My sight fell upon the corpse, my eyes fixed on the head. severed at the neck with the cut still smoldering... I looked down to my spear and wondered allowed, "... Why do so many individuals lack necessary logic?"

Ciel blinked out of her current mood funk, staring at me in confusion. "Necessary Logic...?"

"If I may..."

We both turned out attention to the unnamed resistance guard. She stood straight and held a stiffed arm and clenched fist over her chest. "Sargeant First Class, Estella Whiste." Dropping from the form of salute, she relaxed her stance and blinked with her brows raised. "Many soldiers and warriors of the field have sworn an oath to their side and their side alone. "Death before dishonor." A popular form of loyalty sworn to a cause they truly believe in." She looked down at the fallen viking's corpse. "What I'm saying is that this man swore this very oath. Doing such a thing is not a light action. He wouldn't have come alive, logical or not. So, the only option left to him was death."

... I found myself understanding in a strange way. narrowing my eyes down into the warrior fallen. "... This form of ... oath ... is not entirely unfamiliar to me, then."

Ciel turned her attention onto me with a confused stare. "O-oh...?"

Staring out at the destruction I caused and the wounded I left, I remained silent for a while... before turning my gaze upon the doctor. "I appear to have made us liable for a great many more reploids in need of repair. What do you propose?"

She blinked at me for a moment... then turned her attention to the field and the many reploids missing limbs. They were either staring at us with fearful expression- or at least they seemed to fear me in particular- or they were helping each other in any way they could manage.

...But one was approaching... It was the first I'd disarmed by breaking his gun. He glared at me with unease whilst walking closer and stopped a few yards away. "... Leave it to the good doctor to find herself another freak." He paused for a moment, looking at the ground with balled fists clenched tight.

Ciel walked up to him and frowned. "I don't know your reasons for turning away from the resistance, but any who need repairs will be given such. Please, just come qui-"

"Cut the crap!"

She gasped and winced back from him.

The soldier scowled at her with a clear and deep hatred. "Yeah, you would offer us help when it's an opportunity," he hissed. "What about when we were left near death as we fought for you?! What about the guys that weren't so luck?! All the resistance did was consider us missing in action or destroyed! You didn't even try to save us back then, so why should I trust you to save us now-?!"

I turned to face him, which made him gasp and back away with his hands up. "You are the offender in this scenario. Regardless of past discrepancies, the damage you all suffered this day was of no other's fault but your own. I gave you many opportunities to cease hostilities. Therefore, your argument is invalid. My actions were solely in defense of my commanding officer and her encampment."

The soldier scoffed at me and looked away, a nervous, weakened narrow in his eyes all that remained of his glare. "L-like we had a choice... Yeah, dying by one guy is just as bad as dying by the other, but we owe our lives to the Icons' leader. He saved us all..."

The comment intrigued me. This man knew who the leader was. I stepped forward and in front of him with my eyes baring down on him with the faintest glare. He froze in place with a gasp and shivered like a leaf. "Who is the leader of these "Icons?" Identify by name and/or appearance."

My question made him hesitate as his head hung and he bit his lip. "I-...I-I can't do tha-at... I-I owe hi-"

My spear was immediately at his throat as he yelped and pulled his head back, hands up.

"L-LAMBDA, STOP!" ... I turned my head to look at a glaring Ciel... I looked down to my damaged arm's shoulder and found her hand squeezing it, tightly. My eyes flicked back up to look at her face as she spoke. "We don't make threats in the pursuit of peace! I forbid you from threatening any of these reploids!"

I merely stared at her with that slight glare still on my face. If we didn't discover who was leading these men, the likely threats would only multiply and magnify. "I caution you from making orders that would impede progress toward neutralizing threats. If we do not gain new and valid information about our enemy, attacks such as this will only repeat and strengthen, for we have no way of deploying counter-attacks. This man clearly holds knowledge which would aid us in that cause. Therefore, it is recommended we extract this information."

Estelle too threw me a dirty look, shaking her head. Though she didn't say a word, it was clear that she didn't enjoy me threatening people either.

She shook her head as her expression became pitiful and weak. "I understand the importance of intel, but we can't become another fear to the people we should be saving! The resistance is comfort to all walks of life that need it. We can't do what you're doing to that poor man if we want that to continue- and I personally do!" her glare dissolved into a miserable frown... before she hung her hand. "I just want you to understand that without me forcing you to obey a command...!"

... This girl constantly left me with questions and frustrations... I suppose that's to be expected when your original purpose was slowly being overwritten, despite your best efforts. I took my spear away from the man's neck as he sighed heavily and collapsed to his hands and knees, sweating.

I then pressed and held the button on the middle of my spear as it turned off and compacted back to it's carry form. I walked away from the man and Ciel, brushing her hand from my shoulder.

She looked up and watched me with that frown still on her face. She was worried.

I stopped a few steps from her, then turned my head to look at her with one eye. "I request that we speak after you and your followers have seen to these soldiers. Until then, I shall remain on high alert." And with that, I left them to inform the other resistance guards of what they would do...


End file.
